The Newbie & The Hottie
by Phanton Flame
Summary: My debut story! The school Heartthrob, Danny, meets the new girl in school. He falls for her, but a secret of his could tear them apart. Or will it? AU DxS. Complete. Chapter 2 now revised!
1. Sam, The New Girl

_~Revised 22nd January 2012~_

**Name of Story: **The Newbie & The Hottie

**Written By: **Phanton Flame (formally known as M00nlite Maiden)

**Pairing(s) & Character(s): **DxS. More characters included in the later chapters.

**Genre & Rating: **Romance/Friendship. Rated T just in case.

**Summary:** The school Heartthrob, Danny, meets the new girl in school. He falls for her, but a secret of his could tear them apart. Or will it? DxS, Alternate Universe.

**Official Disclaimer: **Danny Phantom © Butch Hartman; Charice Moreau © M00nlite Maiden.

**Author's Notes:** ...looking back on this story, I wonder what the Hell went through my mind to write this. It was SO crappy ;A; And so, I've revised it again... Enjoy, I guess?

**NOTE!** Sam and my own character are OOC, since I swapped their personalities. They will slowly revert back to their usual personalities later on. Danny is OOC to be the bad boy in this story, and no one knows his secret.

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**Chapter 1 – Sam, The New Girl**

"Ah, another day of good ole school... Fun, ain't it? Especially since it's a _Monday_, right after an _absolutely boring_ weekend..." Charice Moreau grumbled under her breath, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she strode along the one of the many hallways in Casper High.

"Don't be like that, Charice!" Her best friend, Tucker Foley exclaimed, brisk-walking to keep up with her fast pace. "It's a new day of learning! You'll never know what will happen! Besides– _Oof!_" He collided into an open locker door and fell over comically before he could finish his sentence.

"Oww..." The Techno-Geek whined, nursing a sore nose as he lay sprawled on the floor, totally oblivious to the stares from other students around them.

Charice barely quelled the urge to burst out laughing as she smiled down at him, her navy-blue eyes twinkling. "You'll never know what will happen indeed..." Ignoring the dirty look he shot her, she continued, "We'd better get going. The bell will ring any minute now." After she helped him up, they hurried off to class, expertly dodging scattered students along the way.

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As the duo settled down at their seats at the back of the classroom, the bell rang. As if on cue, the English teacher, Mr Lancer, entered the classroom and began a one-sided discussion about a play written by Bertolt Brecht. He droned on like a lifeless robot, leaving his poor students bored to tears. A few of them were even sleeping, drooling all over their desks.

Just then, a loud, arrogant voice was heard. "Hmm... I see that no one missed me today, huh?"

Everybody whipped their heads around to see who it was. Almost immediately, the guys grinned at the speaker, while nearly all the girls swooned and began battling their eyelashes at him, in high hopes of getting his attention. A particularly snooty girl glared daggers at them for looking at "her man". Charice merely suppressed an inward groan. _Here we go again... Am I really the only sane girl here?_ She thought, rolling her eyes.

At the front door, with an award-winning smirk on his face, stood Casper High's resident Heartthrob, Danny Fenton.

The boy made his way through the classroom in slow-motion, as if basking in the attention lavished upon him. He sauntered over to his seat, where Charice and Tucker were seated behind him.

"How's it going, Tuck? Did you get yourself a girl over the weekend?" Danny asked casually, as he gave one of the girls watching him a discreet wink.

Tucker grinned. "Nothing much happened. With my smooth moves, I'll achieve the other one soon, Dude!" He bumped fists with Danny while Charice rolled her eyes again.

Mr Lancer cleared his throat loudly, catching their attention. "Ahem... Mr Fenton, are you quite _done_ disrupting my lesson?"

Danny didn't even spare a glimpse at the bald teacher. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever."

The older man frowned in disapproval. _This boy..._ "Right. Now, as I was saying before we were so _rudely_ disrupted... Bertolt Brecht was..." The lecture went on, and in no less than ten minutes, there came a timid knock on the front door.

Mr Lancer raised an eyebrow at the girl standing at the doorframe, shifting her weight from one foot to the other nervously. "Yes?"

"Um, hello sir, I'm Samantha Manson, a recently-transferred student. The office assistant gave me my schedule and this pass addressed to you." She answered politely before handing over a slip of green paper to him.

He examined the paper with critical eyes. "Hmm... They forgot to inform me about a new transfer... In any case, welcome to Casper High, Ms Manson. Allow me to introduce you to the other students." He clapped his hands loudly, startling everyone. "Class, I'd like all of you to welcome a new student. Her name is Samantha Manson." Sam stepped forward and smiled uncertainly, not used to being in front of so many people.

"If you have any further queries, please feel free to ask any student or teacher. For now, you can join Mr Foley at the back of the classroom. There's an unoccupied seat next to him." Mr Lancer instructed the black-haired girl.

"Okay..." She gave him a barely noticeable nod, before sitting next to the previously-dubbed Mr Foley and slumping over tiredly.

Tucker and Charice ceased their hushed conversation with Tucker when the latter noticed Sam behind her. The brunette reached over and waved a hand in front of the new girl's face, causing her to look up with wide eyes. "H-huh?"

Charice chuckled lowly at her reaction. "Easily scared, eh?" When Sam blinked at her in confusion, she shook her head. "Where are my manners? I'm Charice Moreau. Welcome to Casper High." She smiled warmly.

Sam returned the smile with her own, albeit more timid. "Hi Charice, I'm Sam Manson."

"Hey, you don't have to be so hesitant around Charice. She won't bite your head off… Unless she's angry, of course." Tucker mumbled offhandedly from beside her.

She stared blankly at him. "Um, okay... Mr Foley, right?"

The dark-skinned boy guffawed. "Jeez, you sounded like Mr Lancer! Just call me Tucker. Nice to meet you, _Ms Manson_!"

Her timid smile grew wider, maybe even a little cheeky. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, _Mr Tucker_."

"...say _what_ now?" He gaped, making both girls laugh.

As Charice and Tucker talked and joked around with Sam, they helped to put her at ease. She had been really anxious about coming to a new school with no friends, but at least now she had some company.

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"Have you talked to the A-listers of Casper High yet?" Tucker grilled her.

"A-listers? I haven't heard of them yet. Who are they, some sort of celebrities?" Sam asked, slightly confused.

Tucker was about to respond when Charice butted in. "They're the most popular guys and girls in school." When she saw Sam's lost look, she elaborated. "You see, our school has a ranking system in popularity: The A-listers; the B-listers; the C-listers and the Losers. A-listers consist mostly of cheerleaders, jocks and their dating partners."

"B-listers consist mostly of Drama kids, Choir kids, Dancers, Uniform-grouped kids and average people, like me. C-listers consists mostly Punks, Goths, Rockers and low-key kids. The Losers are like outcasts. They're also the primary targets of torture from the A-listers. That includes people like Tucker, the resident Techno-Geek." She finished.

"_Hey!_" Tucker protested, while Charice stuck her tongue out at him.

Sam grinned. "Alright, so I know the definition, but could you at least point them out for me?"

Charice nodded and began to scan the class, immediately catching sight of a certain snooty girl flirting with the guy beside her. She pointed at her discreetly and muttered venomously, "That girl over there is Paulina Sanchez. She's the most popular girl in our grade and has practically all the guys _grovelling_ at her feet because of her looks. She's just a shallow little witch, so stay out of her way."

"My turn!" Tucker adjusted his thick spectacles and gestured towards a blue-eyed blonde guy laughing with his friends. "_That_ guy's Dash Baxter. He's the most popular guy in our grade, as well as the star of our school's football team. He may be good at sports, but I can bet you that if you ask him to spell a simple word like 'impossible', he'll just stare at you stupidly and ask if there's such a word." The two girls snickered at that.

"Is that all of the A-listers? So few of them?" Sam enquired.

Charice looked around once more. "Yeah... At least for this class, I mean. There are a _lot_ more A-listers in the other classes."

The other girl shrugged carelessly. "Alright, so–"

"Wait a second!" Tucker cut in rudely. "You missed out one, Charice!"

Sam blinked in slight confusion. "Um, okay... Who is it?"

"Argh, how could I forget?" Charice slapped her forehead. "The one sitting next to me is an A-lister."

Sam glanced over. She hadn't noticed him before, probably because he was ignoring their conversation. It was a guy clad in a white t-shirt with a red oval in the centre, faded blue jeans and red sneakers. His dark bangs fell right into his face, yet she could still see his aqua-blue eyes peeking out. A bored expression adored his features as he sat hunched over his desk.

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**Author's Notes:** Why do I feel like this became worse after revision? D: *cries* Anyway, the rest of the chapters will probably be revised too, but at a slow pace. Reviews are appreciated, thank you~

~Phanton Flame (:


	2. Get To Know You

_~Revised 3rd March 2012~_

**Author's Notes:** Sorry for the major delay! School has gotten me tied up, but I have a one week holiday right now, so here's the revised edition of Chapter 2!

**NOTE!** Sam doesn't have her book-bag yet, so she has to hold her books in her arms. Also, Dash had a fight with Danny prior to this story, resulting in him getting beaten up badly, so he's REALLY scared of Danny.

**My thanks to my reviewers (before the revision): **Kpfan72491, Phantom Misfit, Biisaiyowaq, Codiak, Pokadot Queen95, Skating Queen, Happy Cheerio, Shadowy Flip Flops of DOOM, pyrongirl.

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**Chapter 2 — Get To Know You**

_Whoa. Whoa. WHOA._

_Talk about a cuteness overload for a guy!_

Sam turned to Charice, hoping she didn't sound too eager. "And he is...?"

"Daniel Fenton, but everyone calls him Danny. He's Casper High's resident Bad Boy, Alpha Male, Heartthrob, etc. Whatever you call him, he's still the best. He's also the only A-lister who talks to B-listers, C-listers and Losers." Her newfound friend stated, twirling a lock of her lush brown hair.

"I-I see..." Her sentence trailed off as she bit her lip.

_That explains why I find him so cute..._

The dark-haired girl watched with slight amusement as Tucker started to tease Charice about having a crush on Danny. She rolled her eyes and teased him about his obsession over Paulina. Their mini teasing game went on.

She occasionally peeked over at Danny, only to find him in the same hunched position as before. There was one time the girl glanced over and found him staring back at her. Startled, she looked away, her heart pounding heavily against her chest.

_Was he looking at me?_

Sam felt a blush creep over her face.

_Nah, it was probably just my imagination... right?_

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A certain Heartthrob yawned sleepily as he lowered head down onto his desk, tuning out the surrounding noise.

_Stupid Box Ghost... Always escaping from the Ghost Zone when I'm trying to sleep..._

His eyes snapped open to check on Lancer, who was teaching, as usual.

_I think he's just trying to bore us to death..._

The boy glanced over at Charice and Tucker, who were talking to the new girl.

_What's her name again?_

His mind drew up a blank for a moment before it registered in his rather hazy memory.

_Samantha Manson._

Danny stared at her shamelessly as he took in her appearance. She was wearing a black tank top with a purple oval in the centre that exposed her midriff, a black skirt with a green crosshatch design, purple stockings and black combat boots. A green hair tie held back some of her short, black hair out of her eyes, and her lips were painted a light shade of purple.

For accessories, a black choker was clasped around her neck and a pair of black bracelets adorned her wrists. He decided that her most outstanding feature was that pair of alluring violet eyes, sparkling with amusement at her classmates' conversation.

_Hmmph. What a pretty little Goth... She'll probably be my next new toy... _Danny smirked for a moment, before his eyebrows furrowed._ Or maybe I shouldn't do that to her... She seems different from the rest of the girls here... _His eyebrows sunk lower. _What's wrong with me? I shouldn't be caring about this new girl, even if she DOES have pretty eyes!_

The black-haired boy glanced over at Sam again. To his surprise, she was staring straight back at him. He blinked rapidly before awkwardly turning back to face the front.

_She's just another girl._ He told himself firmly. _No need to freak out over a girl staring at you, since you've been ogled at by many others a million times... right?_

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Right at that moment, the bell rang, releasing the uninterested teenagers from Mr Lancer's lecture. The hallways were packed with students once again.

"Excuse me... Sorry... Coming through..." Sam mumbled as she attempted to get to her new locker alive without getting trampled on by other people. After much difficulty of struggling through throngs of loitering students, she finally made it to her locker safely.

The girl twirled the locker combination awkwardly and placed most of her heavy books on the shelves as neatly as she could, leaving her to hold onto her next lesson's books. Just as she closed her locker shut, someone grabbed the back of her tank top. Stunned, Sam dropped the books she was carrying.

"Hey Kwan, this is the newbie! Pretty, huh?" She heard someone say arrogantly. Even though the voice was a tad high-pitched and nasally, she could still tell it was a guy.

Sam squirmed in his grasp. "Let me go, whoever you are, you–" She cut off her own sentence when she caught a glimpse of her capturer. "Dash Baxter!"

"Dude, the newbie knows your name!" The other guy, whom Sam assumed to be Kwan, grinned widely at his partner-in-crime.

Dash flipped the petite girl around in his arms and stared at her face. "Hmm... She's really pretty. This girl's gonna be my new baby doll!" He flashed Sam a wicked grin as he brought her closer, attempting to kiss her.

"I am _not_ your _toy_! Let me go, or else you'll never have a single Father's Day later on in life!" Sam growled, kicking Dash as hard as she could, but it was proved futile, since he had muscles of steel. He seemed oblivious to the threats, too.

Suddenly, someone grabbed Dash's shoulder. The blonde jock jerked his head back, ready to give the interrupter a good beating... until he saw that it was _the_ Danny Fenton, glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand Suns.

Caught completely off-guard and fearful, Dash stuttered, "Uh, h-hey Danny... Wh-what's up?"

The previously-named boy's glare never dissipated as he shot back, "I should be asking _you_ that, Baxter. What do you think you're doing with the new girl?"

"I wasn't doing anything!" The football jock protested weakly. "I was just... uh..." His sentence trailed off, his brain (or lack thereof) unable to come up with a reasonable explanation. He quickly released Sam, almost as if she was on fire. The girl stumbled forward a little, dazed.

Danny stepped forward menacingly and hissed out, "I know what you were doing... You tried to force yourself on her, _didn't you_?"

Dash gulped and nodded his head quickly, afraid of what the other boy would do if he lied to him.

"It's her first day of Casper High and you're already bullying her. You're just _asking_ for something to go down, aren't you?" The blue-eyed Heartthrob demanded.

"N-no..." Dash whimpered pathetically as he backed away slowly.

Danny set a gentle hand over Sam's shoulder as he barked out, "If I catch you near her _one more time_, you'll get it from me, understand?"

The blonde-haired boy couldn't even reply – he let loose a high-pitched girl scream as he scampered away from the scene of the crime.

Sam couldn't help but feel dazed. _The supposed school Heartthrob just protected ME? I must be living in some other parallel universe!_

The boy of her thoughts spared her a glance and waved his hand in her face. She snapped out of her distracted state at once. "Wha– Oh, um... Thanks for helping me out." A pretty smile graced her purple lips.

_What a cute smile... Wait, aren't I supposed to reply?_ "No problem." He stuck his hands in his jeans pockets nonchalantly, brushing aside the strange thoughts about her. "So, what's your next class?"

The amethyst-eyed girl blinked once before glancing down, suddenly remembering something important. "O-oh! My books... Stupid Dash..." She grumbled as she bent down to pick them up.

On impulse, Danny decided to bend down and help her out. He picked up a few books before reaching out for the last one, just when Sam did the same. His fingers brushed against hers briefly, but they could've sworn that sparks flew upon contact.

Eyes widening, the boy pulled away from her, confused by his heart's sudden racing. She averted her own eyes, trying to fight down the blush that threatened to spread across her face.

Danny coughed awkwardly, handing her back her belongings. "I guess you're having Chemistry next, judging from the books you dropped."

"Smart." Sam chuckled, clutching the large hardcovers tightly to her chest. "What about you?"

He gave her a killer smirk, leaning against the lockers coolly. "Same as you. Shall we walk back to class together? I don't want another scolding from that old hag for being late for class, so you're the perfect excuse."

The dark-haired girl twitched. "Of _course_."

Danny laughed at her sour expression. "You're definitely a life-saver."

With that, the duo walked towards their Chemistry class silently, completely absorbed in their own thoughts. Little did they know that they were thinking along the same lines...

_She was more interesting than I thought... Looks like I've got someone to get to know better now..._

_He's such an arrogant boy! ...but something about him just draws me to him like bees to honey... And it's not just his looks, either. I guess coming to a new school isn't so bad, now that there's someone for me to get to know better..._

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**Author's Notes:** That was _such_ a cheesy ending to a chapter. What on earth was I _thinking_ two years ago? -_-"

As usual, reviews are always welcome, thank you~! :D

~Phanton Flame (:


	3. Meeting Danny Phantom

**(A/N:**** I'm back with a brand new chap, and I'm free from examination stress at last! I'm extremely glad that the two chapters I've put up have been a success so far. According to my Stats Breakdown, I have in total: 365 hits, 7 Faves and 10 Alerts. However, I really hope to see your comments in reviews. They realIy make my day, you know :)**

**Disclaimer's in Chapter 1.**

**Here's thanks to my lovely reviewers: Kpfan72491, Happy Cheerio, Spectral Ninja, Codiak, pyrongirl, Sunshine-Midnight123)**

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**-****Recap-**

**With that, the duo walked to their class in a comfortable silence, lost in their own thoughts. Little did they know that they were thinking for the same thing…**

_**I have **_**got**_** to get to know her!**_

_**I **_**have**_** to get to know him better!**_

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Chapter 3—Meeting Danny Phantom

=At school=

~Normal POV~

"Boy, I am really glad that was over…" Tucker groaned to Charice and Sam. Their horrendous History lesson was done at last and school was over for the day.

Charice stretched out her arms tiredly, followed by a loud yawn. "You've got that right. Wanna go grab some lunch at the Nasty Burger?"

Sam raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean by _Nasty_ Burger?"

"I guess you've never heard of it!" Tucker exclaimed and instantly launched himself into a very long lecture about Nasty Burger, its history and its food.

Halfway through it, Charice decided to cut in. "In short and simple terms, it's a fast-food restaurant as well as a favourite teenage hangout. So _anyway_, are you guys up for lunch there?"

"Sure." The techno-geek spat out. He glared at Charice for interrupting him little 'speech'.

Charice ignored him purposefully and turned to a chuckling Sam. "What about you, Girl?"

Sam stopped her quiet laughter and answered, "I guess so."

And so the trio set off for the Nasty Burger. When they got there, they bought their lunches. Tucker bought a Sloppy-Joe and a medium-sized coke. Charice got a potato salad with a mango smoothie, while Sam opted for a Caesar salad and a bottle of plain water. They went to their usual table and enjoyed their meals as they chatted. However, Sam's mind kept drifting away to a certain blue-eyed bad boy.

* * *

~Sam's POV~

_Hmm__... I don't know why people say that Danny's a bad boy… He seems like a nice guy. I mean, if he was all that bad, he wouldn't have helped me with that dumb blonde jock Dash a few hours back._

_But I have to __admit, when Charice said that he's Casper High's Heartthrob, I wasn't surprised at all. With such a handsome face, lean body and killer blue eyes, Danny's rather cute, really…_

_Oh man… I had better stop daydreaming about Danny. He will never date an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian Goth like me. He's an _A-lister_, for crying out loud. He can get any girl he wants with just _one look_!_

_But I can still hope-_

"Hello? _Sam_? Are you with us?" Suddenly there was a loud voice that jolted me.

I yelped. "Huh? What? What?" I blinked and gave my new friends a confused look.

Charice gave me a look. A 'what-in-the-world-is-wrong-with-you' look. "I've been calling your name for at least a minute already! Are you feeling okay?"

I nodded. "Yeah I'm okay. Sorry, Charice…I guess I'm thinking too much about Da-that horrid History teacher." I flashed a small grin at her, hoping that she didn't catch my lie.

Charice shrugged. "You'll get used to that mean old guy. Hey Tucker, do you think…" And so conversations resumed. I nodded my head at what seemed like appropriate times, but I wasn't paying attention. My thoughts went flying to Danny again.

_I wonder why people said that Danny's a bad boy. Maybe he flirts with every girl he sees. Wait, that can't be right, if so, he would have been flirting with that Paulina girl sometime in school._

_Or maybe people just created that rumour about him because they're jealous…_

"Aaaaaahhh!"

I could've sworn that I had jumped about five feet in the air when I hear that scream. "What..what was that?" I managed to ask.

Charice and Tucker were frozen for a moment before yelling in unison. "Ghost attack! Everybody RUN!" They ran almost as fast as lightning towards the exit, along with the rest of the people who were in Nasty Burger. All of them were screaming bloody murder.

I wrinkled my nose in confusion as I remained rooted to the ground, not moving an inch.

_A _ghost_ attack? Here? In a fast-food restaurant?_

As though answering my thoughts, a giant lime-green dragon came through a wall and crashed into a nearby table. It roared angrily and charged at something.

I squinted at it. Okay, scratch that last one. Apparently it's not a _something_, but a _someone_.

_Someone_ wearing tight-fitting black spandex suit with a white insignia on his chest that looked like an intertwined D and a P, as well as white gloves and white boots. He looked like a normal teenaged boy around my age, apart from the white hair, green eyes and... the fact that he was glowing and floating like the giant dragon.

_That is _so_ not normal!_

"Would you stop it already?" The Ghost Boy said with boredom evident in his voice, dodging the dragon with ease. "I know you hate me, but look at the mess you've made out of Nasty Burger!"

The dragon roared again and spotted me standing nearby. It charged towards me.

_Uh oh. RUN!__!_

I gulped and tried to get away, but my reaction came a second too slow. The ghostly dragon caught me in one of its massive claws. Out of natural reflexes, I shrieked loudly.

"Hey, don't drag her into this! This is between you and me! Let her go!" The Ghost Boy yelled at the dragon as he glanced at me.

The dragon ignored him and gripped me tightly as it soared into the air. I screamed again.

The Ghost Boy shot up after the dragon and shouted at me. "Hang on, Sam! I'm coming!" He formed and shot a rather large green ball of energy from his gloved hands, aiming at the dragon's wings.

_Wait, how did the Ghost Boy know my name?_

…_oh man, I think I'll get back to that later. There's a _bigger_ problem right now!_

Just then, I heard my dragon capturer roar in pain. It started to fall lower. The Ghost Boy formed and shot another green ball of energy at its wings again. Its roar was softer by now. It loosened its grip on me and crash landed onto a roof of a tall commercial building, with me pinned under it.

"_Man_, after all this trouble, you're _definitely_ goin' back to the Thermos." The Ghost Boy grumbled loudly, holding out what I assumed to be the Thermos he was talking about, sucking it into the soup-container look-alike.

That _was good._

As the dragon's weight got lifted away, I was sent flying over the edge of the building.

That _was bad!_

I heard the wind howling in my ears as I continued to plummet down. I squealed in horror and shut my eyes tight, bracing myself for the impact of bones breaking... Only to find that I was alive and being carried by someone.

Confused, I opened my eyes and found a pair of green eyes boring into mine.

_Wait a minute… _Ghost Boy_?_

He was holding onto me, bridal style and hovering in mid-air. I looked down and looked back at him with wide eyes. He chuckled softly and mumbled in a gentle tone, "Don't worry, I won't let ya fall. I've got ya."

He flew with me in his arms at a slow speed. When we were directly above the neighbourhood park, he swooped down and set me down on my feet carefully, before backing a few feet away as his gaze settled upon me.

I smiled at him nervously, unsure of what to say to a ghost who had just saved my life. "Uhh… Thanks for saving me back there. I didn't catch your name though…"

"I'm Danny. Danny Phantom, but you can just call me Phantom. Don't listen to the news, my name's not Inviso-Bill." He chuckled in a low voice. "Do you need a ride home?"

_Aww__... He's such a gentleman-I mean, gentleghost…_

"Err, sure, if it's not a problem for you…" I mumbled and the next thing I know, I'm floating with Phantom holding onto me bridal-style once more.

"Nah, it's no problem." He said nonchalantly as he took off again. He looked down. "So, where's your house?"

I squinted for a moment before pointing at a mansion. "Over there, the big house with the large oak tree in the backyard. You can drop me off there."

He nodded and headed to the backyard. He set me down and I smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks a lot, Phantom."

Phantom sent a lopsided grin my way. "No problem, Sam. It's my job." With that, he flew away.

I waved after him and walked into the large house. There was no one around, since it was the butlers and maids' day off. My parents were on a business trip, as always.

I bounded up the stairs and sumo-flopped onto my black bed. It was only about four o'clock, but I was already feeling extremely tired. After all, it's not every day you get captured by a dragon ghost, fall off a commercial building and get saved by Danny Phantom.

_Hmm… Phantom's lopsided grin sure looks familiar… He even knows my name! I seriously don't recall telling him that._

_I hope we get a chance to meet again soon. He seems really nice._

I yawned and fell asleep instantly.

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**How was it? I think I used a whole lotta 'grinned' and 'smiled' this time. **

**By the way, I have 3 questions for you readers:**

**1.**** What colour is strawberry-blonde hair? Is it red, blonde or a little of both?**

**2. What are middle names? Are they your parents' or your grandparents' names? Or are they just made up by your parents?**

**3. Could someone explain to me how the education system in US works? I don't live in the US, so I'm not too sure. I thought that High school is for students around the age of 18 to 19, but Danny along with his friends are fourteen and they study in Casper High School. Could someone explain this?**

**Please help me on these three**** matters. They've been nagging at me since I they popped up in my head during the exams. Till the next chapter,**

**~M00nlite Maiden :)**


	4. Heart to Heart Chat

**(A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I have NEVER seen this many reviews before! Thirteen reviews in seven days! Wow! Thanks for all your replies to my questions. From what I've gathered and summarized, I've come to these conclusions:**

**1. Strawberry-blonde hair is golden yellow with a tint of red.**

**2. Middle names are names that your parents come up with. Either that, or they are in remembrance of a family member.**

**3. Pre-school is from ages 4 to 5. Kindergarten is from ages 5 to 6.**

**Elementary school is from ages 6 to 13. 1st grade is from ages 6 to 7. 2nd grade is from ages 7 to 8. 3rd grade is from ages 8 to 9.4th grade is from ages 9 to 10. 5th grade is from ages 10 to 11. 6th grade is from ages 11 to 12. 7th grade is from ages 12 to 13.**

**High school is from ages 14 to 18. 9****th**** grade is from ages 14 to 15; freshmen. 10****th**** grade is from ages 15 to 16; sophomore. 11****th**** grade is from ages 16 to 17; juniors. 12****th**** grade is from ages 17 to 18; seniors.**

**~Many thanks to those who helped me with this! :D**

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**In this chapter, Danny's acting more like…himself, in the show. A bit cheeky, though. Sam and Charice are still acting like each other, but Sam's still an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian.**

**Looking for a disclaimer? It's in Chapter 1.**

**Many thanks to my lovely reviewers: Kpfan72491, bryandachosen1, Cereal Anonymous, Biisaiyowaq, pyrongirl,** **Happy Cheerio, epobbp, Sunshine-Midnight123, Codiak, Squeeze Anonymous, Fadley, TheLegitProduction, The Silver Radio)**

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**-Recap-**

**I bounded up the stairs and sumo-flopped onto my black bed. It was only about four o'clock, but I was already feeling extremely tired. After all, it's not every day you get captured by a dragon ghost, fall off a commercial building and get saved by Danny Phantom.**

_**Hmm… Phantom's lopsided grin sure looks familiar… He even knows my name! I seriously don't recall telling him that.**_

_**I hope we get a chance to meet again soon. He seems really nice.**_

**I yawned and fell asleep instantly.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 4—Heart-to-Heart Chat

=At School The Next Day=

~Normal POV~

"So, then what happened?" Tucker asked eagerly.

Sam was telling Charice and the Techno-Geek about her encounter with the local ghost hero Danny Phantom. They were in History class, but since Mrs. Lin was absent, the relief teacher let the students do what as they pleased.

Sam shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing else. He flew off and I went back into my house."

"He's cool." Charice and Tucker murmured together.

"Who's so cool?" a vice behind them enquired. The three friends turned around to see Danny, who was quirking an eyebrow at them.

Tucker gave him a wide grin that practically stretched from ear to ear. "Sam got rescued by Inviso-Bill during the ghost attack at Nasty Burger yesterday!"

Danny gave the Goth a kind smile. "That's good, at least he's doin' his job of keepin' the town safe."

A wistful smile graced her features. "Yeah… He's kinda cute for a ghost though…"

* * *

~Danny's POV~

When I heard her say that last sentence, I almost felt a tug on my heart.

_If only she knew…_

"Hey guys!" I called out to get their attention. All of them looked at me.

"Can I join ya all for lunch today? I'll meet ya at Nasty Burger." I suggested hopefully.

Tucker and Charice nodded at the same time. "Sure, no problem." They replied in unison.

_I swear, sometimes those two are so alike, people may get the wrong idea and think that they're twins or somethin'…_

I glanced at Sam. "What about you?"

She tucked a small tuft of black hair behind her right ear as she smiled at me, almost shy-like. "Okay, I guess."

"Great! Meet 'cha later, guys!" I yelled over my shoulder as I walked off to my locker.

_I can't wait!_

_

* * *

_

=Nasty Burger After School=

~Normal POV~

"Over here, Danny!" Charice waved a hand at the said boy the moment she saw him enter the fast-food restaurant. His baby-blue eyes lit up as he spotted them at a nearby table.

He slumped into a seat next to Sam. "Hey there. Are you guys done eatin'?"

"We're still eating. We wanted to wait for you to come then we buy our lunch together, but Meat-Lover over here was whining like a girl about his _terrible_ hunger." Charice nodded her head at Tucker before putting a piece of potato into her mouth.

"_Hey!_" Tucker gave her a mock glare through a large mouthful of his Sloppy-Joe.

Danny snickered at him. "Nah, I get it, especially since I know about Tucker's major obsession with _meat_."

Sam shuddered slightly as she chewed on a piece of lettuce. "Argh. I wish you guys had warned me a few minutes ago about that. I nearly gagged when I saw that huge slab of meat in his burger."

"Huh? Why?" The Techno-Geek asked curiously.

"Oh, I don't think I told you all, but I'm an Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian." Sam explained.

Tucker wrinkled his nose in confusion. "An Ultra whazit?"

"An Ultra-Recyclo Vegetarian." The three repeated flatly.

"Oh. What's that mean?" He asked again.

"It means that she doesn't eat anything with a face on it." Danny and Charice replied in unison before Sam could say a word.

Sam looked at them with her eyebrows raised in surprise. "How did you two know?"

Charice smirked. "I have my ways."

"I dunno how, but I just knew." Danny shrugged casually.

At this point, Tucker remembered something and asked eagerly, "Hey, I've heard that the Annual State Fair's comin' up this Friday for one day only. Are you guys goin'?

Sam shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

"Depends. My parents might want to show me another one of their wacky ghost inventions again." Danny shuddered slightly.

Charice and Tucker raised their eyebrows at the odd comment, but decided not to pursue the matter.

Instead, Tucker changed the subject. "So, what's new in the Rumor Mills? I think I heard that Paulina tripped over someone's leg and got Nathan Rickerson's chocolate cake all over her $80 designer tee."

Charice started laughing. "Now _that_, my friends, was totally _hilarious_. Did you see the way she threw a hissy fit in the cafeteria? The look on her face was totally _priceless_!"

Danny and Sam became slack-jawed. "Were you the one who did that?"

The brunette gave an evil grin. "What do you think, my dears?"

Sam looked at her friend thoughtfully. "Well… I think the answer is yes, you did."

"Oh my God, if Paulina finds out that you're the one who tripped her, she's gonna totally _murder_ you!" Tucker grinned like a maniac.

Danny waggled a finger at Charice and shook his head. "You, my friend, are the very definition of pure _evil_."

All Charice did was chuckle. "Why _thank you_, Mr. Fenton."

Sam blinked at her friend. "Uhh…Charice, I don't think Danny meant that as a compliment…"

"Yeah, I _know_, Sam. Jeez, don't you people know a _thing_ about _sarcasm_?" Charice demanded.

"Well, that last sentence of yours was sarcastic." Tucker smiled smugly.

The girl grabbed his red beret and used it to smack him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?" He grumbled, rubbing the sore spot.

"_That_ was for being a smart-aleck and answering my _rhetorical_ question." She retorted.

"So _what_? That _still_ isn't enough reason to abuse me!" He grunted.

Charice glared at him. "What's _that_ supposed to mean? Are you trying to tell me that I need your _permission_ to punch you?"

"Maybe, maybe not." He teased, using the same line Sam had just a few minutes ago.

"In that case, _excuuuse_ me, Mr. _Foley_. May I _please_ punch the living daylights out of you?" Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Tucker grinned at her. "Of course, Milady." He attempted to speak in a British accent and failed miserably.

The brunette lunged at the Techno-Geek sitting across her almost immediately. He dodged her attack and yelped as his voice rose several octaves. "Ahh! Oh my God! Don't hurt me! I'm innocent!"

She lunged at him again. "_You're_ the one who gave me permission to punch you! I'm just following your orders, Mr. _Foley_! "

He ducked her fist. "Jeez, can't ya take humor? It was just a joke! Right?" He ducked her fist again. "_Right?_" He called out desperately.

"_Wrong._" Charice hissed.

"Oh my _God_!" He squealed, recognizing the dangerous tone she used. "Somebody, _anybody_! Save me from her evil clutches! _Help!_"

Danny and Sam snickered as they watched Charice assault the Techno-Geek. "Sorry dude, you're on your own! Good luck escaping, though!" The blue-eyed boy couldn't resist calling out.

"Come on, let's get out of here and leave them to their fighting." Sam elbowed him in the side before walking out of Nasty Burger. He followed after her.

The pair strolled towards the neighborhood park in a comfortable silence and settled down under a large tree that shaded the sunlight. They continued to be silent for a moment before Sam broke it. "So, how's it like being an A-lister plus Heartthrob?"

Danny was silent for a minute before he answered. "It's okay, I guess."

She looked at him in disbelief. "Just _one_ word? 'Okay'?"

"Well then, how many words should I use?" He questioned.

"I don't know, but it should be more than just _one_ word." Sam declared. "I mean, you're one of _the_ most popular students at school! You have practically _everybody_ bowing at your feet! Almost _all_ the girls worship the very ground you walk on! And all you say is just '_okay_'? _Unbelievable!_" She shook her head.

Danny was stunned by the shy girl's sudden outburst and was currently at a loss of words. There was not a sound from them as the trees' leaves rustled above their heads in the gentle breeze.

"I wasn't always popular, ya know." Danny spoke suddenly.

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"If you met me a few years before, you would've known that I was part of the Loser crowd, along with Tucker. Both of us constantly got shoved into lockers and got major wedgies, courtesy of Dash Baxter. Then I was sick of all the bullying and decided to stand up for the two of us, which resulted in a big fight with Dash. I won, so I immediately became a part of the A-listers. Tucker wasn't involved in the fight, so he's still a Loser till date. I'm still friends with him, though." Danny explained.

"Oh." Was all Sam could reply. She was secretly shocked about what he just said.

"Do you like Danny Phantom?" Danny asked out of the blue.

* * *

**(A/N: LOL, I'm wondering if this counts as a cliff-hanger. I think it isn't. Either that, or a miniature cliff-hanger XD It's my first attempt at one, so cut me some slack ;)**

**I'm just curious, but do you think this fanfic's safe enough to be bumped down to a K+? Do tell me in reviews, 'cos if so, I'll bump it down so that younger FF.N users can read this :P**

**Till the next update,**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	5. Teasing & A Set Date

**(A/N: Here's an update for you readers, since you overshot my target of 10 reviews! Although I must say, this story's popularity seems to be booming. Awesome! ;D**

**By the way, just to let you people know that in my fanfics if you haven't noticed this, there's a difference in the way the guys and girls speak. The guys talk with a slang while the girls talk in proper sentences.**

**Go look for the disclaimer at chapter 1, if you need to see it. **

**Shouts of thanks to my reviewers: Fadey, Kpfan72491, Danni99981 Chap 3 as well, aras the crazy writer,** **pyrongirl, Codiak, Sunshine-Midnight123, Biisaiyowaq, The Silver Radio, bobolink7, Squeeze Anonymous, Emilie Anonymous)**

**Danni99981: **Actually, I think different parts of U.S. have slightly different education systems. So the one I put in chapter 4 was pretty much general, but thanks for trying to correct it :)

**Biisaiyowaq:** I thought about your comment, and I guess you're right, Sam should've been more tactful about that touchy subject. Thanks for the observation :)

**bobolink7:** Wow, I didn't know about the separate stories for the M thing. Thanks for the information! Those are really useful! Thank you very much! :P

**Squeeze:** Lol, I think you put up the same review twice, but that's okay.**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"**

"**If you met me a few years before, you would've known that I was part of the Loser crowd, along with Tucker. Both of us constantly got shoved into lockers and got major wedgies, courtesy of Dash Baxter. Then I was sick of all the bullying and decided to stand up for the two of us, which resulted in a big fight with Dash. I won, so I immediately became a part of the A-listers. Tucker wasn't involved in the fight, so he's still a Loser till date. I'm still friends with him, though." Danny explained.**

"**Oh." Was all Sam could reply. She was secretly shocked about what he just said.**

"**Do you like Danny Phantom?" Danny asked out of the blue.**

* * *

Chapter 5—Teasing & A Set Date

=After School, Neighborhood Park=

~Normal POV~

Sam cocked her head to the left slightly. "Well…sure. He saved me from falling off a building yesterday. We could be friends…"

"No, I meant whether you like-like him." Danny corrected himself, gazing at her.

The amethyst-eyed teen's face became a rosy-red. "N-no! Why do y-you ask?" She stammered.

Danny gave her a cheeky grin. "You _do_ like-like him, don't 'cha?"

"No, I don't!" Sam exclaimed, but her rather prominent blush gave her away.

Danny smirked at her playfully. "You're blushin'! Just admit it, Sam! You _do_ like-like Phantom!"

"No, I don't!" She repeated her previous statement.

"Do!"

"Don't!"

"_Do!_"

"_Don't!_"

"_DON'T!_"

"_DO!_"

Danny grinned triumphantly. "Ah ha! You just said _'do'_!"

Sam pouted at the grinning boy. "You _so_ tricked me, cheater-bug! I don't like Phantom _that_ way!"

The Heartthrob just smiled knowingly for a few seconds before the black-haired girl blurted out, "Is it _really_ that obvious?"

"Sorta." He chuckled quietly.

"Really? But how did you know?" Sam frowned in confusion.

"I have mah ways." He smirked, trying to mimic Charice but failing horribly. This caused the two to undergo several fits of laughter. It took a long while before calming down.

"Anyway, I personally know Danny Phantom. He's a good friend of mine." Danny said nonchalantly.

Sam choked on her own saliva. "Are you kidding me?"

"No, I'm not. He even…" He hesitated for a second before continuing. "…he even told me about an encounter with ya." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

The Goth sighed heavily. "Argh, he must've told you that I was a total klutz."

He gave her a crooked grin. "Nah, actually he…" He paused.

She looked at him and silently urged for him to go on.

"…Well, he thinks that you're…cute." He finished quietly.

Her amethyst eyes widened. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope, I'm being completely serious here." Danny stated shyly, staring at his shoes.

"Oh. Wow. I don't believe it." Sam mumbled in a bit of a daze.

"Yeah…" Danny had no idea what to say next. The two became extremely quiet again.

* * *

~Danny's POV~

_Jeez, how _stupid_ can I _get_?_

_Why, oh _why_, did I have to say that I'm good friends with _Danny Phantom_? I _am_ Danny Phantom!_

_If only she knew…_

"Um, hello? Earth to Danny Fenton, come in, Danny!" A slender hand waved directly in my face.

Whaa…?

I blinked myself back into focus. Sam was looking at me with an expression mixed with concern and confusion.

"Danny, are you alright? You have a blank look on your face!" She exclaimed, blinking her alluring amethyst eyes at me.

_Wait, did I just say _'alluring'_?_

…_Nobody heard that…_

I finally got my voice back. "Uhh…yeah, I'm alright. Sorry about being…blank…I mean, blankin' out…I mean, spacin' out. Yea, spacin' out. Anyway, what were you sayin' again?" I rubbed my neck sheepishly.

"Oh, I was just asking if possible… I, uhh…" She stumbled over her words, seemingly nervous.

_Aww, she looks really cute when she's nervous…_

"Yeah, Sam?" I scooted closer to her.

"I-was-wondering-if-you-could-accompany-me-to-the-Annual-State-Fair-that-Charice-and-Tucker-were-talking-about-before-they-started-arguing." Sam mumbled so fast that I could barely catch what she said.

"You were wonderin' whatzit? You have to slow down a little. I couldn't hear ya." I scrunched up my nose in confusion.

She took a deep breath before repeating her previous sentence. "I was wondering if you could accompany me to the Annual State Fair. You know, the one that Tucker mentioned before getting Charice angry."

The moment she finished her sentence, my mind set itself on an over-drive.

_Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!_

_Sam's askin' _me_ out on a _date_!_

_She likes me! Oh my gosh, she actually _likes_ me!_

_This is kinda embarrassin'. Why didn't _I _think of this earlier? Boy, am I dumb…_

_Not an important matter now. I think I should tell her who Danny Phantom really is…_

_But what if she thinks I'm a freak when I tell her? Oh no, I won't be able to take it!_

_She's so unique and kind and pretty and…_

"Uhh…Danny?" Someone shook me by the shoulders. I assumed that it was Sam.

"YES!" I shouted, my voice slightly high-pitched. Sam looked at me with an expression crossed between bewilderment, shock and confusion.

_Smooth, Fenton, _real_ smooth…_

_Okay, act cool, act cool, act cool…_

"Uh, I mean…I'd love to go with you. I'll…uh…pick you up on Friday at…uh, 7 o'clock? At, uh…your house. Uh, see ya there! It'll be, uh, cool." I nodded my head and smiled at her, before making an attempt to walk off, pronto.

_The one thing that didn't sound so cool: Whatever I said in between the gazillions of 'uh's…_ I grumbled mentally.

"Wait a sec, Danny!" Sam called after me. "You don't know where my house is!"

I looked over my right shoulder and yelled back at her. "It's okay! Phantom knows where it is! I can ask him!"

Sam blinked before shrugging. "Alright then! See you on Friday, Danny! Bye!"

I waved at her. "Bye, Sam!"

"Bye!" She flashed a pretty smile, which nearly melted my mind into a puddle of brain juice.

I continued to walk back to my house, daydreaming about all the great things about Sam. I was so deep in my thoughts that I almost overshot my house. However, it would be really hard to miss it.

_After all, how many houses have an Op Centre and a 'Fenton Works' sign at the top of your house?_ I thought dryly.

When I went inside, the house seemed deserted, which meant that Mum and Dad were down in the sound-proof basement, most probably working on a new ghost invention. I knew that Jazz was still in school, hosting some sort of counseling session with some kid, as usual.

After bounding up the stairs and into my bedroom noisily, I leaped onto my dark-green bed. I began to jump up and down as though I was a kid again.

_YES! I'm goin' on a date with SAM! WHOO-HOO!_

* * *

**(A/N: Hope this chapter's alright. Anyway, I've need some help! Could you gimme some suggestions for rides at a State Fair? This is going to be in one of the next chapters. I think it's the next one. Please give ideas in reviews! This is greatly appreciated! Thanks :P**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	6. Are You Ready For It?

**(A/N: Hey there readers, I'm really sorry about the extremely delayed update. I've been sick for a week and had a bit of trouble thinking up the plot. By the way, this chapter was brainstormed in class along with my good pal, Fadey! Read, enjoy and review! :D**

**For this chapter, Jazz Fenton, Maddie Fenton and the Fenton Ghost-Spray make a guest appearance! I don't own the first two, but I own the Fenton Ghost-Spray! The original disclaimer's in Chapter 1, thank you :)**

**Danny's more like himself, Tucker's the usual Techno-Geek but less nosey, Sam and Charice are still OOC, but Sam still hates pink. Jazz is more relaxed when it comes to her parents' ghost stuff, Maddie is…well, normal, or as normal as the Fenton family can get. By the way, Jazz doesn't know about Danny's ghost powers, and neither does Maddie.**

* * *

**Thank you reviewers: Fadey, Kpfan72491, Codiak Anonymous, Biisaiyowaq, Squeeze Anonymous, Sunshine-Midnight123, The Silver Radio**

**Codiak: LOL, I'm guessing that you were lazy to log-in to review, so you were just anonymous ;)**

**Biisaiyowaq: Of course, the Sam we all know wouldn't say such a thing, but Charice would. Ah, the wonders of a personality swap… It makes them all OOC :P**

**Squeeze: Hmm… Tunnel of Love may or may not work, 'cos there's something coming up.** **Bumper Cars and Ferris wheels seem good, though. Thanks! ;3**

**Sunshine-Midnight123: Ferris wheels are a must for Fairs! :D But I'm wondering what are 'Tilt a whirl', 'the Zipper' and 'Ring of Fire'. How do you play 'em? 0.0**

**The Silver Radio: Ah yes, Danny's a child at heart ;) Hmm… The Monkey Cages sounds interesting. But how do you play the 'Octopus' and the 'Scrambler'? 0_0)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**After bounding up the stairs and into my bedroom noisily, I leaped onto my dark-green bed. I began to jump up and down as though I was a kid again.**

_**YES! I'm goin' on a date with SAM! WHOO-HOO!**_

* * *

Chapter 6—Are You Ready For It?

=Time-Skip to Thursday night, Sam's House=

~Normal POV~

It was a silent night at Amity Park. Everywhere was dark, except for a room on the second floor of the Manson Mansion, which lit up out of the blue.

Sam had been tossing and turning in bed, unable to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. She gave up after a while and sat up in bed, before she flipped the light switch beside her.

She grabbed her cell phone and decided to call someone.

_Ring… Ring… Ri—_

"Hello?" A familiar voice muttered drowsily.

"Uh hi Charice, it's Sam here." The amethyst-eyed girl answered hesitantly.

"_WHAT?_" Charice screamed, any trace of sleepiness seemingly gone from her voice. "Sam, are you out of your _mind_? It's 11 o'clock at _night_! I need to _sleep_, you know!"

Sam winced slightly at her harsh tone and immediately attempted to calm her down. "I'm sorry, Charice, I really am. I want to sleep too, but there's this thing that's been nagging at the back of my head, and I can't sleep, so but I _really_ need to tell you something right now to get it off my chest."

Her sleep-deprived friend groaned loudly. "Jeez, what in the _world_ is so important to you that you can't wait until _tomorrow_ to tell me?"

"Well… I have a date tomorrow!" Sam blurted out.

There was a coughing sound over the phone. "You have a _WHAT_?"

"You know, a D-A-T-E. I don't have to explain the meaning of that word, do I?" The raven-haired girl teased lightly.

"Of course not! So, who's the lucky guy?" Charice asked brightly.

Sam paused for a moment as she considered telling her friend that it was Danny. She decided against it. "Not telling."

"Oh come on! I'm your friend, not some shallow little witch called _Paulina_!" Charice complained. "Now, who's your date?"

"Sorry, I'm _still_ not going to tell you." She sighed.

Charice growled angrily for a few seconds before asking a different question. "So, where's this little date of yours going to be at?"

Sam smiled to herself. "The Annual State Fair. The one that Tucker talked about before you attacked him." She frowned a bit. "Speaking of Tucker, what _did_ you do to him?"

Charice started guffawing. "You _really_ wanna know?"

Sam thought about all the countless possibilities that her friend could have done to Tucker and shuddered. "On second thought, maybe I _don't_ wanna find out."

Charice chuckled. "Thought so. What time's your date?"

"Tomorrow, at 7 o'clock. He's picking me up at my house." Sam stated.

Charice squealed. "Wow! That is so sweet! And—" There was a sudden snapping sound.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Charice, what was that noise?"

"I've _got_ it!" Charice exclaimed suddenly, her voice slightly muffled. There was a soft click, indicating that she had ended the conversation.

Sam blinked a few times as she listened to the dial tone. "Hmm... _That_ was weird." She shrugged and flipped the light switch again.

_But it doesn't matter. I'm going to bed now…_

* * *

=The Next Day, Danny's House=

~Danny's POV~

_Yes, today's the date! And the time's already 4 o'clock!_

_However, there's a major problem right now…_

_What do I _wear_? Hmm…_

I rummaged through my wardrobe quickly, as a bunch of my clothes flew out, one after another.

A white T-shirt with a red oval in the center?

_Nah, I wear that one to school every day._

A black vest courtesy of Jazz?

_Nope, looks a bit girlish.__Besides, I thought I chucked that out of the window just last week…_

A knitted blue sweater from Aunt Alicia?

_Nuh-uh! Not a chance, man!_

A green dress shirt?

_N-wait! This might work!_

I got a hold of a plain white T-shirt and put it on, before wearing the green dress-shirt over it, buttoning it halfway. I traded my favorite pair of jeans for a pair of dark navy-blue dress pants. My red sneakers were still on. I observed my appearance in the big mirror.

_Hey, not too shabby-looking. But I still need a second opinion…_

"JAZZ!" I screeched, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Yes, Danny?" She answered from downstairs.

"Could ya come in for a sec?" I yelled, before starting a mental countdown.

_5… 4… 3… 2… 1…_

Right on cue, Jazz burst into my room with one of her psychology textbooks tucked under one arm. She spotted all the clothes strewn all over my bedroom. "Wow… It's like an alien with a clothes obsession came in and completely _thrashed_ your room…"

And, of course, she had to glance at me. "…and you look _SO cute_!" She squealed, like the girl she is.

_Oh yeah, _great_ second opinion, Fenton…_ I rolled my eyes and spun 360 degrees on the heels of my sneakers. "So, whadaya think?"

She put down her textbook and gave me a once-over from head to toe. "Not bad, but what's the occasion?" She gasped. "Is it a date?"

I rubbed my neck sheepishly as I nodded in reply.

Jazz, in turn, squealed _again_ and hugged me tight. "Oh my gosh, oh my _gosh_, oh my _GOSH_! Danny's got a date! Danny's got a _date_!"

I shoved her away gently, slightly annoyed. "Jeez, what's up with ya? It's not like this is my _first_ date!"

She shuddered. "Argh, I _hated_ your first date. What's her name again? I think it was _Paulina_ or something…"

"What's wrong with Paulina? I thought ya liked her." I blinked confusedly at my orange-haired sister.

She rolled her eyes. "Puh-_lease_. Don't get me started on _her_." She waved a hand in the air, as if to change the subject. "Anyway, I _know_ it's not your first date, but I _do_ know that this is the first time you're dressing _nicely_ for one."

"But I…" I faltered, unable to think of a good retort. Jazz grinned in her annoyingly smug know-it-all look. "Okay, _fine_! Ya win this round." I grumbled.

She chucked and clasped her hands together with a sigh. "Ah, my little brother's on a real date! They grow up so _fast_ these days…" Suddenly, her eyes sparkled with glee. "Let's show Mom!" **(A/N: I'm from Singapore and learn English the British way (explains the 'colour' instead of 'color'), but I use American spelling for 'Mom', which is the only exception. I dunno why, but it just seemed right :))**

My eyes widened in horror. "Jazz, don't you—" She scrambled out before I could finish talking. "—dare."

A few minutes into my stunned silence later, Jazz came back to my room with Mom in tow.

"Aww Sweetie, you look great!" My mother exclaimed before frowning suddenly. "But we must do something about your hair, it's in a total disarray."

She picked up a hairbrush from a nearby table and began taming my raven-coloured hair. However, no matter how many times she tried, my hair _still_ stuck out at odd angles.

"Hmm… I know! Jasmine, could you go down to the Lab and get the can on the table with the label 'Fenton Ghost-Spray' on it?" She told Jazz, who nodded and ran off.

"What 'Fenton Ghost-Spray'?" I asked cautiously.

Mom smiled brightly. "It's an invention your father and I have been working on! All you have to do is to spray some onto your body, and any evil ghosts around you will be sent straight back to the Ghost Zone!" She paused for a second before adding, "It also keeps your hair in check!"

_Hmm… If any evil ghosts around the person who gets sprayed ends up gettin' sent back to the Ghost Zone, then what happens if the person gettin' sprayed is _half-ghost_?_ I gulped.

"Uh Mom, have ya even tested out the Fenton Ghost-Spray yet?" My voice cracked slightly, as I felt a sinking feeling in my gut.

She resumed the task of brushing my hair. "No, not yet. You're the first Fenton to try it out! Now, isn't that great?"

The gut feeling sank lower. "Well actually, no, I don't think so."

She blinked at me through her red goggles as she put the hairbrush down momentarily. "But Sweetie—"

"Here's the Fenton Ghost-Spray, Mom!" Jazz interrupted as she handed a spray-can to her.

_Oh man, _great_ timin', Jasmine, _great_ timin' indeed…_

"Thanks, Hon." My mother smiled at Jazz before turning back to me. "Now Danny, the Fenton Ghost-Spray only affects ghosts, so you shouldn't be so worried about it."

"Oh no, this can't be good…" I muttered as I moved backwards inch by inch towards my escape route, the door.

"Now, if you just hold your head still…" Mom continued, holding up the can.

"NO WAAAY!" I shrieked, not caring whether I sounded girly or not. I darted out of my room with Mom and Jazz hot on my heels.

"Danny, wait!" Mom called out from behind me, waving the Fenton Ghost-Spray wildly.

"Little brother, come back!" Jazz added, chasing behind her.

I groaned loudly. "I shouldn't have asked for a second opinion…!" I wailed as I desperately tried to escape from the two of them, with my hair messy but intact, of course.

* * *

=Meanwhile, at Sam's House=

~Sam's POV~

_Alright, the time's 4 o'clock and I _still_ haven't decided what I should wear!_

_Hmm… Let's see what I have in here…_

I was in my walk-in wardrobe, holding up outfit after outfit before tossing them away after dismissing them.

A normal white tee?

_Argh, _so_ not my colour. Reject._

A black leather mini-jacket?

_Nah, reject. Hmm… But the black bat buttons are nice touch, though. I wonder where I bought that…_

The store-bought pink dress from Mom?

_Eww!_ I scrunched up my nose in disgust. _I thought I burned _this_ one a few days ago! _Definitely_ a reject!_

A black halter-neck dress?

_Love the colour, but it's too fancy. Reject._

A spaghetti-strapped dress that's light-purple in colour?

_Nah, it's too—Hold on a second! This might be okay…_

I slipped into the dress before going through the rejected pile of clothes to retrieve the black leather jacket. I shrugged it over my pale shoulders and checked myself out in my full-length mirror, which was hanging on my bedroom door.

_It's alright, I suppose… Something's not quite right, though…_

Then I realized that my black combat boots clashed with the outfit. I walked towards the shoes section and picked out a similar pair of boots, but it was dark purple and had black laces.

I looked at my reflection again and nodded in satisfaction.

* * *

=Meanwhile, outside the Manson Mansion=

~Normal POV~

"Okay, I'm gonna ask this once and only once: Why in the name of _beef-jerky_ are we doin' this for?" Tucker demanded loudly.

He and Charice were creeping along the bright-green fencing around Sam's house, trying to be as non-suspicious-looking as possible, but at the moment Tucker's loud question made passer-bys cast looks their way.

Charice gave him an evil look as she slugged him hard in the arm. "Does _this_ ring any bells in that miniature pea-sized _brain_ of yours?"

"Ow! Yes, yes it does…" The Techno-Geek whimpered, rubbing his arm as he recalled an event that occurred that morning.

**-Flashback-**

**Tucker yawned sleepily as he shuffled into the neighbourhood park. Through his half-lidded green eyes, he spotted his best friend Charice seated on a nearby bench, and trudged towards her. He sat down next to her with a heavy sigh. "So, what's the emergency? Is your house on fire or somethin'?"**

"**Hey, don't you curse me!" The brunette huffed, before becoming serious. "Look, I just found out last night through a phone call that our new friend Sam is on a **_**date**_** today!"**

**The boy with a red beret stared at her in disbelief. "Ya gave me **_**seven**_** missed calls before I'm even **_**awake**_** and tell me to meet ya at the park at **_**six**_** in the **_**mornin'**_** just to say that Sam's on a **_**date**_**?" He paused as he processed what he had just said. "Hold on a sec, Sam's on a **_**WHAT**_**?"**

**Charice blew a stray lock of her hair out of her face in annoyance. "Didn't I just say that a few seconds ago? She's on a **_**date**_**, you slow-thinking **_**geek**_**!"**

"**Wow, that's great! Who's the date?" Tucker said enthusiastically before pausing. "Wait, did you just insult me?"**

"**Oh boy…" The girl muttered under her breath as she slapped her forehead at his stupidity. "I'm just going to ignore that last question. Anyway, I don't know who the guy is, so that's where **_**we**_** come in."**

**Tucker had a confused expression on his face. "Hate to break it to you Charice, but there isn't any door around here to come in through…"**

**She groaned in frustration. "Oh for crying out loud, forget about the non-existent **_**door**_**! The thing is, **_**we're**_** going to spy on Sam's date!"**

"**Oh, I get it now." He nodded. "But why **_**'we'**_**? Why not just **_**'you'**_**?"**

"**Uh **_**hello**_**? Tuck, you have **_**all**_** the technology and proper equipment we need to spy on them! Duh!" The turquoise-eyed girl reminded him.**

"**Right…" He muttered before his eyebrows furrowed. "Wait a sec, is their date today?"**

"**Yes, seven o'clock in the evening, at the Annual State Fair." Charice rattled off.**

**Tucker shook his head from side to side quickly. "In that case, I can't spy with ya."**

**She folded her arms across her chest. "And **_**why**_**, may I ask?"**

**He grinned at her excitedly. "I'm stayin' at home to kick some butt on Doomed tonight!"**

"**I'm going to kick **_**your**_** butt if you don't accompany me to the State Fair tonight!" The girl threatened as she slugged him in the arm for good emphasis.**

"_**Yeow!**_**" Tucker yelped, nursing his arm. "Fine! I'll go with you to the stupid State Fair to spy on Sam and Mystery Guy. There, ya happy now?" He grumbled.**

"**Oh yes, Tucker! It, like, **_**totally**_** made my day!" Charice exclaimed in a high-pitched Paulina-like voice. She even battled her eyelashes.**

**He gave her with a completely weirded-out look. "Let's just pretend you didn't say that."**

"**Agreed." She replied in her usual voice. "Anyway, meet me here in your normal clothes at four o'clock later, okay?"**

**He grinned at her and saluted. "Yes Madam!"**

**Charice just rolled her eyes.**

**-End of Flashback-**

"Oh yeah, that's right." Tucker muttered under his breath. "It was all Lil' Ms. 'I'm-gonna-kick-_your_-butt's fault that I'm doin' this."

Charice smacked his head angrily. "I _heard_ that!"

* * *

**(A/N: *Panting like a dog* **_**Man**_**, you have no idea how long it took to crank that out! It's gonna get interesting from now on. And I still need help about the rides, readers! I need some ideas on how to continue too! My target for reviews is still 10, so please comment in reviews. That's all, I'm out, peace!**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	7. Picking Her Up & The New Mission

**(A/N: Hi, I'm back! I had MAJOR Writer's Block with this chapter, so I asked my classmate Fadey for some help! She did most of this chapter, and I'm really grateful for it. Thanks, friend! :3**

**Sam's grandmother, Ida Manson (I think), makes an appearance! I don't own her, and the usual disclaimer still applies. It's in Chapter 1.**

**I'm wondering what happened to my reviewers :( Suddenly I only have four reviews. Is my story boring you? If so, do tell me. I can spice it up a bit more.**

**Recognition for my reviewers: Fadey, Codiak, Kpfan72491, Squeeze Anonymous)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

"**Oh yeah, that's right." Tucker muttered under his breath. "It was all Lil' Ms. 'I'm-gonna-kick-**_**your**_**-butt's fault that I'm doin' this."**

**Charice smacked his head angrily. "I **_**heard**_** that!"**

* * *

Chapter 7—Picking Her Up & The New Mission

=Danny's House=

~Normal POV~

Danny panted heavily as he collapsed onto his bed, utterly exhausted from running all over the house. His bedroom door was securely locked in order to keep his Fenton Ghost-Spray armed mother as well as his nosey sister out.

He stayed motionless for a moment to cool off before his eyes swiveled over to look at the blue wall clock. "It's 6.50pm already?" He gasped and was instantly up on his feet, scurrying around his room in a mad rush. He was moving so fast that he accidentally tripped over his own feet.

"Ouch…" Danny groaned, picking himself off the floor. Being smart for once in his C-student life, he realized how chilly it was outside and quickly grabbed a black hoodie before he popped his head out of the bedroom door, glancing around cautiously.

_No family members in sight. RUN FOR IT!_

The Heartthrob bolted from his room and out the front door at a supernatural speed. He refused to stop running until he reached a large tree a few blocks away from his house.

He quickly checked if the coast was clear before he yelled, "Goin' ghost!" Two neon-blue rings appeared around his waist, with one going down to his feet and the other to the tip of his forever messy hair. He was now Danny Phantom.

Phantom took off into the air, his eyes all the while darting left and right as he searched for the familiar mansion his date lived in. His eyes became a more brilliant shade of green as they lit up upon finding her mansion.

The white-haired boy flew behind a tree a few feet away from the mansion and transformed back into his human counterpart. He sauntered carefully towards the mansion's front door and knocked three times.

To Danny, it felt like an eternity went by before an elderly woman on a motorized scooter opened the door. She smiled kindly at Danny. "Hello, young man. Are you here to get Sam?"

Danny managed a smile and nodded. The elderly woman turned her head and called out, "Bubeleh, your boyfriend's here!"

"He's not my…uh, coming, Grandma!" A muffled voice replied.

A few moments later, Sam bounded down the stairs to the doorstep to meet Danny.

* * *

~Danny's POV~

My mind slowly processed what Sam had called out to the elderly woman as I waited for her.

_Hmm, that means that this is Sam's grandmother…_

Just then, my date arrived.

_Oh…My…Gosh…_

I was pretty sure I was drooling at the sight of her. **(A/N: Remember, this is the first time Danny has seen Sam wearing this, so the description's longer. I hope you can visualize it, 'cos I'm really bad at describing outfits =.=)**

Although her make-up and accessories were the same as her everyday clothes, her outfit then was really beautiful. She was wearing a light-purple spaghetti-strapped sleeveless dress which flared out at the bottom evenly, grazing her knee-caps. Over it was a glossy-black leather jacket with tiny black bat-shaped buttons, but it was left unbuttoned. On her feet was a pair of purple combat boots with black laces in front.

"H-hi Danny, are you ready to go?" Sam's voice seemed a little quaky as she interrupted my ogling.

I managed to smile a bit, blushing so hard that I could feel the heat in my cheeks. "Yep. C'mon, let's go." I stuck out my arm and she linked hers through mine, before looking at Sam's grandmother.

Before I could open my mouth and utter a single word, she smiled at me. "You two have fun at the Fair, but make sure Sam's home by eleven o'clock tonight or her mother's going to throw another fit." She grimaced.

I blinked a few times and nodded. _What a cool grandmother…_I turned around with my date and went on our way to the Fair, on foot.

* * *

=Meanwhile, in Sam's room=

~Sam's POV~

I was in my room, touching up my makeup when a familiar elderly voice yelled out suddenly. "Bubuleh, your boyfriend's here!"

I dropped the brush and instantly felt like crashing my head against the wall when I heard that.

_Oh _great_, my own _grandmother_ just humiliated me in front of my newfound crush by calling me _Bubeleh_. Could this day get _any_ worse?_

Then I realized what she had just called Danny.

_Wait… Did she call him my _boyfriend_?_ I sighed. _Apparently, she _can_ make this day worse with just _one_ sentence…_

"He's not my…uh, coming, Grandma!" I shouted at her through the door before closing my makeup kit and grabbing my black purse. I bounded down the stairs quickly to meet Danny.

_Wow, he's more handsome than usual… _I resisted an urge to blush as I stared at him.

Through his partially-zipped black hoodie, I could see that he was wearing a light-green dress-shirt buttoned halfway and a plain white T-shirt underneath. A pair of dark navy-blue dress pants replaced his usual pair of jeans, while his trademark red sneakers remained on his feet.

Danny's face was slightly shadowed and framed by his hood as his messy black bangs fell over his ice-blue eyes, which were fixed onto me. He was also slack-jawed. His expression was so cute that I couldn't help but blush lightly.

"H-hi Danny, are you ready to go?" I asked, cursing inwardly at my shaky voice as he snapped his eyes away from me abashedly and smiled a bit. I felt my heart soar as he stuck out his arm and replied, "Yep. C'mon, let's go." I noticed that a light blush was dusted across his fair cheeks.

_Don't jump to conclusions, Girl…It's only a friend date. _I berated myself in my mind before intertwining my arm with his.

He turned to my grandmother and looked like he was about to say something but Grandma smiled at him and spoke. "You two have fun at the Fair, but make sure Sam's home by eleven o'clock, or her mother's going to throw another fit." She made a face at the end of her sentence.

I chuckled mentally. _As if my mother's even in town…_

Before I knew it, Danny was walking side by side with me on our way to the Fair.

* * *

=Meanwhile, outside the Manson Mansion=

~Charice's POV~

Tucker and I had been waiting along the fence outside Sam's really big house for her date to arrive when I caught sight of a familiar blur of black and white. It landed behind a tree a distance away from the really big house.

_Oh my gosh. That's Danny Phantom! _I tried to tell Tucker with my eyes. However, being a guy with a brain only filled with his precious technology, he was unable to get the message. He continued to hum obliviously, toying with one of his many PDAs.

I sighed before socking my friend in the arm, causing him to drop his PDA onto the soft grass.

"Ow! What the—" was all he could say before I swiftly stuffed a fistful of grass into his mouth. His eyes widened at the sight of the green plants in his mouth and was about to fall over in a dead faint before I smacked him softly and pointed towards where Amity Park's Ghost Hero was standing.

Tucker spit out the grass in shock when he saw the ghost. "Oh my gosh, it's Danny Phantom!" Tucker squealed in a high-pitched voice. He looked like a little kid on a sugar rush. "He's my hero…" Tucker continued breathlessly with stars in his eyes.

I resisted the urge to whack him. Instead, I was about to say something when it happened. It caused both of our jaws to drop to the ground as well as for our eyes to grow twice their size in a heartbeat.

A bright light engulfed the famous hero of Amity Park suddenly. When the light faded away, a human was standing in his place. I could not see his face, as the black hoodie he was wearing shielded his face from view. Wasting no time, the person walked towards the Manson Mansion and knocked on the front door.

I continued to watch as an elderly woman on a scooter answered the door, before Sam came into view. My mind quickly processed the situation before coming to a shocking conclusion.

I whipped my head around to face Tucker, who was staring back at me with a bewildered look on his face.

"Danny Phantom's a person who's dating Sam!"

"Sam's dating a human version of the Ghost Hero!" We whispered at the same time, our words overlapping each other.

I gained a thoughtful expression as I concocted up our next plan of action. I observed Sam and Danny Phantom walk in the general direction of the Fair and cackled with glee.

Tucker had a completely freaked out look on his face. "What are you evil laughin' about?"

"Our new mission is to find out Danny Phantom's true identity!" I announced, a grin evident on my face.

"What?" Tucker said, looking totally confused.

I smacked my palm onto my forehead. _That's what I get for befriending a dummy…_

* * *

**(A/N: Once again, I thank Fadey for this awesome chapter. And please review! If not, this story is goin' nowhere. I mean, what for write when no one appreciates? Till the next chap,**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	8. Fun At The Fair

**(A/N: I dunno about Fairs in the U.S., but I'm writing it so that each ride is in their own individual tents, so please don't get lost in this chapter.**

**By the way, I'm making it around autumn (or fall) season in this story. Because of this cold weather, Danny's still wearing his black hoodie with the hood up. Later on he'll take it out, and…you'll find out later.**

**Remember that Sam and Charice have switched personalities and therefore OOC. Tucker's still a goon and a Techno-Geek. Danny's become his good old self from the cartoon series. Sam's been affecting him, I guess.**

* * *

**Thank you reviewers: Fadey, Sunshine-Midnight123, Kpfan72491, Codiak, Squeeze -Anonymous-, Biisaiyowaq, The Silver Radio -Chap 6 as well-**

**Sunshine-Midnight123: **Yeah, Charice is rather violent, due to the OOC thing, as well as Tucker's stupidity. Under usual circumstances, she won't hurt anyone, unless provoked. If you want to find out more about Charice, you can check out her information on my profile.

**Squeeze: **Aww, thanks! Nice to know that I'll still have one reviewer rooting for me even when no one does :3

**The Silver Radio:** Wow, thanks for explaining those rides. However, I'm not gonna use them, 'cos I don't think it's nice to get sick in front of your date 0.0 And LOL, thanks for not abandoning my fic :) I'm confused, though. You have to go school in winter time? I though there's a winter break in the U.S….**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

"**Our new mission is to find out Danny Phantom's true identity!" I announced, a grin evident on my face.**

"**What?" Tucker said, looking totally confused.**

**I smacked my palm onto my forehead. That's what I get for befriending a dummy…**

* * *

Chapter 8—Fun At The Fair

=The Annual State Fair, with Sam & Danny=

~Normal POV~

"This is sooo cool!" Sam practically glowed with excitement as she and Danny stood at the Fair's entrance, eyeing all the moving rides inside.

Danny quirked an eyebrow at the overly-enthusiastic girl beside him. "Is this your first time at a Fair?"

The amethyst-eyed girl grinned. "Yup! There weren't any of these things back in Michigan." **(A/N: I made that up. I just randomly picked a state from the U.S. :P)**

Her grin was so infectious that he could not help himself. He smiled back at her and tugged on her arm. "C'mon, which ride do you wanna try first?"

Sam glanced around the crowded Fair. "I don't know. Ooo… How about that one?" She pointed at the nearest ride she saw—The Bumper-Cars.

Danny shrugged. "It's your choice, Sam. I'm fine with any ride."

And so, the pair ran off to queue up at their first ride of the day. They paid the game vendor and picked their Bumper-Cars; Blue for Danny and black for Sam.

"This is fun!" The black-haired girl exclaimed gleefully. "I can't wait to go for—" She was interrupted by a certain blue Bumper-Car crashing into hers.

She narrowed her eyes at her laughing date and zoomed after him. "You get back here so I can bump into you properly!"

He stuck out his tongue at her playfully. "Make me!"

Soon enough, Sam managed to catch up on him and slammed right into his car's side. "Ha! Take that!" She smirked triumphantly at him.

"No fair!" Danny pouted. "You're _so_ gonna get it, Sam!"

He was hot on her heels (or in this case, wheels) when the ride stopped. They reluctantly hopped out of their respective bumper cars and accidentally got separated while pushing against people. They found each other the second they got outside the tent.

Sam's eyes glinted with mischief when she saw Danny. "I'm so going to get it, huh?" She mimicked her date.

The raven-haired boy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. You win _this_ round."

"Sounds like _somebody's_ moping…" She teased in a sing-song voice.

"Am not!" He exclaimed defensively.

"I didn't say _who_…" Sam mocked in the same sing-song voice with a sly grin on her face.

The blue-eyed boy paused, unable to think up a good retort. He then settled for a huff and folded his arms.

The amethyst-eyed girl smiled and linked hands with him. "Come on, Mr. Mopey, let's go on the Rollercoaster over there."

He smiled back and held her slender hand firmly before they sauntered over to the Rollercoaster ride.

* * *

=Meanwhile, with Charice & Tucker=

Charice and Tucker stood a few feet away from the entrance, where their targeted couple was standing.

"We've got a clear view of 'em Lovebirds. What should we do now?" Tucker asked loudly, attracting odd looks from people.

"For starters, stop. Talking. So. Loudly." Charice hissed through clenched teeth as she glared at him.

He flinched under her glare. "Right. So, what _else_ should we do now?"

The girl watched Sam and Danny run into the Fair and towards the Bumper-Cars. Instantly, she brisk-walked after them. "For now, follow them!" She called over her shoulder to her companion.

Tucker blinked after the fast-moving girl for a few seconds before realizing he was supposed to go after her. He scrambled after her, all the while yelling, "Hey, wait for _meeeeeeee_…!"

"Jeez, even while walkin' you sure move fast!" The guy panted the moment he reached Charice, who was standing outside the Bumper-Cars.

"Shut it." The brunette grumbled irritably. She was on her tippy-toes, straining to see which Bumper-Cars Sam and Danny Phantom were in.

Tucker raised a thick eyebrow at the relatively short girl (as compared to him). "What on _earth_ are you lookin' for?"

"Argh, I can't _see_ them, I'm too _short_!" She spat out in annoyance, setting her feet back on the ground. "I _so_ need to grow taller…" She muttered to herself, running her hand through her brown her. She quickly turned to her friend. "Tucker, locate the Lovebirds!"

"On it, Ms. Short-stuff." He smirked as Charice huffed and folded her arms across her chest.

Tucker's green eyes scanned the Bumper-Cars for familiar faces. They stopped short when they caught sight Sam narrowing her eyes at someone.

He glanced over in the general direction of where she was looking at and found a black-hooded boy laughing at her.

The boy continued to watch as Sam set her car after Danny Phantom. "You get back here so I can bump into you properly!" She yelled at him.

Danny Phantom stuck out his tongue at the girl. "Make me!"

_That seems like a whale of a time…_ He smiled wistfully. _I wish I could get a girlfriend and experience that kinda fun…_

"Tucker! Do you _see_ them? Tucker? _Tucker?_ TUCKER!" A familiar voice cut into his thoughts, causing him to yelp in surprise.

Now was Charice's turn to raise an eyebrow at him. "Why were you spacing out on the job?"

He cleared his mind and pretended to act all defensive to save his hide. "_What_ spacin' out? I was _tryin'_ to focus on searchin' for the _Lovebirds_ here!"

"Whatever." The girl rolled her turquoise eyes. "So did you _find_ them yet?"

He sighed softly in relief before replying her. "Yeah, I did. Whadaya want me to do now?

"See if you can make out Ghost-Boy's features and special traits, then describe him to me." Charice ordered. She then became thoughtful. "He's probably from Casper High, since Sam's new and hasn't been anywhere else but school."

Tucker nodded and looked at the black-hooded boy, whose bottom lip was visible and stuck out in a pout as he grumbled, "You're _so_ gonna get it, Sam!"

_Hmm… Danny Phantom sure sounds like someone I know… I just can't remember _who_…_ The bespectacled boy frowned as he racked his brain.

When he emerged from his thoughts a few minutes later, the Bumper-Cars had stopped. Sam and Danny were headed for the exit, but were separated in the jostling crowd.

"Charice, the Lovebirds are gettin' out now!" He muttered urgently to the mentioned girl.

She nodded. "Yeah, but it's packed like a can of sardines outside, so we need to stick together, then locate our target. Grab onto my hand!" He did so, and the two fought their way out of the tent.

"Man, and I thought the school hallways were packed enough…" Tucker choked out as soon as they burst out of the Bumper-Car tent.

"You've got that right…" Charice sighed, before composing herself and let go of his dark-skinned hand. "Alright, back to the mission. Locate Lovebirds, Tucker!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Tucker mumbled, peering at all the people swarming around them. A flash of a black hoodie instantly caught his eye.

Danny Phantom huffed at the Goth girl beside him and crossed his arms. She smiled and murmured something before holding his hand. Together the two walked towards another ride.

"Charice, our subjects are movin' away." He reported to his friend.

The brunette furrowed her eyebrows. "_Again_? Where are they headed for?"

Tucker gestured towards his right and replied, "Rollercoaster."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Charice demanded. "Let's go, go, _GO_!" She sprinted away to the Rollercoaster tent without the Techno-Geek.

Tucker could only sigh and trudge after her.

* * *

**(A/N: Argh, this is SO not my week. Everything's all going bonkers on me! **_**First**_**, my computer broke down. **_**Second**_**, this chapter **_**disappeared**_** from my folder on the desktop, so I had to re-type this out. **_**Third**_**, my **_**newly-changed**_** lights burned out. **_**Fourth**_**, wouldn't let me in yesterday T.T**

**Sorry if the chapter's not up to my usual standards. I think this was short and horrible. I can't help but feel so out of it and really bummed about this week.**

**Do review. It'll make me feel better. It always makes an authoress/ author feel good (unless you flame her/ him).**

**Until the next chapter (which had better be a whole lot greater (as well as fluffier and funnier) than this, or I'll smack myself a million times),**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	9. Let The Trouble Begin

**(A/N: Wow, thank you SO much for all the encouraging reviews :) It made me so happy that I got eight reviews this time. So as a reward, this chapter's slightly longer ^.^ It's also partially because there's a tiny twist in the story ;) Not that funny though =.= Anyway, hope you like it! :D**

**Sam's become herself (O.O?), Danny's himself (goofier! ^.^), Tucker's a goon, Charice is obsessed with trying to find out Danny Phantom's human identity (I'm the authoress, and **_**I**_** find that creepy 0.0).**

* * *

**My lovely reviewers: Fadey, Sunshine-Midnight123, Codiak, Kpfan72491, The Silver Radio, Squeeze -Anonymous-, Gracie407, Big Fan –Anonymous-**

**Fadey:** *Sniffles* Yesh, poor me. And thank God you like it not that way, or I might've spit out the water I was drinking at the laptop screen XD As it was, I had choked on it :D

**Codiak:** LOLs, they don't even know that they're evading Charice and Tucker X3

**The Silver Radio:** O.O My. Longest. Review. Ever. Received. Well, at least the last chap wasn't crappy. You'll find out soon ;) And thanks for explaining. Lucky you… In Singapore we go to school for almost nine months (not continuous). At least you get longer breaks :P

**Squeeze:** Like I said, at least it wasn't crappy. I dunno why I always beat myself up .

**Gracie407:** Haha, glad you like it. Originally this story was pretty serious, so I added some humour to it. It's working so far :D

**Big Fan:** Yep, that certainly helps :P And I'm updating now! XD**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**=With Sam & Danny=**

**The amethyst-eyed girl smiled and linked hands with him. "Come on, Mr. Mopey, let's go on the Rollercoaster over there."**

**He smiled back and held her slender hand firmly before they sauntered over to the Rollercoaster ride.**

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**=With Charice & Tucker=**

"**Charice, our subjects are movin' away." He reported to his friend.**

**The brunette furrowed her eyebrows. "Again? Where are they headed for?"**

**Tucker gestured towards his right and replied, "Rollercoaster."**

"**Then what are we waiting for?" Charice demanded. "Let's go, go, GO!" She sprinted away to the Rollercoaster tent without the Techno-Geek.**

**Tucker could only sigh and trudge after her.**

* * *

Chapter 9—Let the Trouble begin

=The Annual State Fair, with Sam & Danny=

~Normal POV~

"Man, that was awesome!" Danny exclaimed after he and Sam rode on the Rollercoaster.

"Yeah, I know." Sam tried to sound enthusiastic, but the cold weather was taking its toll on her. Her body was quaking lightly as they walked away from the tent.

Danny immediately noticed her shivering. "Oh, you're cold…" He murmured, moving closer to share his body heat with her. He used his hands to rub up and down her upper arms to keep her even warmer.

The black-haired girl smiled, feeling a lot better than before. "Thanks."

He grinned and gestured towards a café within walking distance in front of them. "How 'bout we get something hot to drink from that café over there?" (A/N: Okay, the café was random… I don't think Fairs have cafes… Do they? 0.0)

Her eyes lit up at the sight. "A hot chocolate would be nice." She replied while walking into the café, with Danny following behind her.

They sauntered up to the middle-aged male sitting behind the cash-register.

"Ladies go first." Danny winked at Sam, who rolled her eyes but ordered nevertheless. "I'll have one large-sized hot chocolate, please."

The cashier merely grunted in response and turned to a machine to fulfill the order.

The boy blinked in surprise. "Whoa Sam, you sure you can finish such a big cup of hot chocolate?"

"We're sharing the beverage, Smart-Aleck." Sam muttered in a 'duh' tone.

Danny blushed in mild embarrassment. "Right. I knew that." Sam just scoffed at him.

"Here's your hot chocolate, Miss." The cashier stated flatly as he nudged a porcelain mug towards the pair. "That'll be $4.55." (A/N: I have no idea how much is one hot beverage in the U.S. .)

Sam reached for her purse, but Danny had already pulled out five dollars and thrust it towards the man. "Here you go. Keep the change."

"Danny, you _knew_ that I wanted to pay for that!" Sam complained as she shuffled towards a nearby table with the mug between her hands. She placed the beverage down onto the table before plopping down into one of the chairs.

The blue-eyed boy grinned and took a seat in the chair across her. "Well, so did I." He took a gulp of the drink from the mug. In record time, he slammed the mug down onto the table before sticking out his tongue and using his hand to fan it.

Sam looked at Danny oddly. "What's wrong?"

"Shi's sho hot that it scalhed phy tongue!" Danny exclaimed, still fanning his tongue. **(A/N: Translation: It's so hot that it scalded my tongue!)**

The amethyst-eyed girl could barely contain her mirth. He stopped fanning his tongue, but kept it dangling outside his mouth as he crossed his arms. "Shi's _noth_ phunny!" **(A/N: Translation: It's **_**not**_** funny!)**

"I'm sorry, Danny." Sam wiped away a stray tear which escaped from her eye when she laughed. "It's just that the way you talked was so weird and I just can't believe you actually did that."

Danny retracted his tongue back into his mouth. "What's wrong with gulpin' it down?"

Sam gave him a disbelieving look. "Did the words 'hot chocolate' _not_ warn you that it's, you know, _hot_?"

He blinked a few times before answering. "Oh yeah…"

Sam couldn't help but burst into laughter once more. This time, Danny joined in, laughing at his own stupidity.

Finally the two stopped their seemingly endless laughter. Danny watched, transfixed, as Sam's slender fingers curled around the handle and lifted the heavy mug towards her purple-glossed mouth.

She took a few careful sips of the hot chocolate before putting the mug down and licking her lips. Then she happened to notice that her male companion was gazing at her and unconsciously licking _his_ lips as well. "Uhh… Danny?"

"Whaa!" Danny jumped at the sound of her voice. He was so startled that he fell off his chair and landed face-first into the carpeted-floor. From there, his muffled voice was heard. "Um… Yes Sam?"

Sam chuckled softly at him and helped him back to his chair. "What's gotten into you?"

Danny grinned sheepishly. "Uhh… Nothin'?"

"Then what's with the face-planting and the question-like answers?" Sam asked curiously.

He blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothin'? Uhh… I've always been like that?"

Sam did an eye-roll. "Again with the question-like answers." She picked up the currently luke-warm chocolate and took a few big swigs before passing it to Danny. "Come on, quick finish this and let's get out of here."

He nodded and sipped at the beverage slowly (for fear of scalding his currently numbed tongue).

Sam looked at the scene and could not help but smack her forehead. "Danny, the sky's going to be dark at the rate _you're_ drinking. The beverage isn't even _hot_ anymore, so can you gulp it _down_ now?"

Danny smiled embarrassedly and finished it in no time. "Okay, let's go now." He murmured hurriedly, grabbing her hand and rushing out of the café, with the startled girl stumbling after him.

"So, what ride should we go on next?" Sam asked brightly, after Danny had stopped moving. She was purposefully ignoring the fact that he had not let go of her hand yet.

The boy was about to respond, but ended up having to gasp as a blue wisp slipped out of his mouth. _Oh no… Of all times to have a ghost… when I'm on a date with Sam…_ He blamed it on his bad luck.

He gazed at Sam and held her by the shoulders with two hands. "Sam, do you trust me?"

The girl blinked her confused amethyst eyes at him. "Yes…" She replied slowly, not knowing where this conversation was going.

"Good. Now I need you to close your eyes, count to five and head for safety, okay?" He shook her desperately for emphasis.

"Uhh, sure…" Sam gently shifted his hands away from her; the shaking was making her head spin. Then she lowered her eyelids.

_1…2…3…4…5…_

Her eyes cracked open.

And Danny was nowhere in sight.

* * *

=Meanwhile, with Charice & Tucker=

Tucker frowned as he and his small female companion loitered outside the Rollercoaster tent. "Can't we just go on the ride 'stead of standin' out here like cuckoo-birds?"

Charice shook her head. "No-can-do. If we go in, your mind's focused elsewhere and we won't be able to keep track of the Lovebirds."

"Whadaya mean by 'my mind's focused elsewhere'?" He protested. "I'm focused! In fact, I'm one of the most focused guys you'll ever _find_!"

The brunette scoffed at him, before pointing in a random direction and mock-gasping. "Oh my God, is that _Paulina_ I see over there?"

"Where? Where?" Tucker shouted excitedly, jumping up and down as he craned his neck to see the imaginary popular Prep.

"Yeah, you're _sooo_ focused, Tuck." Charice drawled sarcastically and placed her hands on her hips.

The Techno-Geek stopped jumping when he realized that she had tricked him. "Okay, I'm _mostly_ focused." He conceded.

"Whatev—Hey, the ride just ended! Get ready, Tuck." Charice interrupted herself when she saw a gaggle of people exit the Rollercoaster tent.

Tucker grumbled under his breath but nodded. The duo quickly tried to locate their targets. The search was over when Charice spotted a familiar black-hooded person walking side by side with Sam.

"Tucker, I see them! Come on!" Without waiting for a response, she grabbed a hold of her bespectacled friend's sleeve and pushed her way through the sea of people to get to them.

When the two of them finally reached the Lovebirds, Sam was headed for a nearby café, with Danny Phantom hot on her heels (or in this case, combat boots).

Tucker placed a hand on her shoulder as he panted. "Do you _ever_ stop movin'?"

Charice huffed in annoyance and retorted, "Do you _ever_ stop whining?"

He paused, unable to think up a wittier comeback.

"Let's just go after them, you big whining _wiener_." She grunted after a moment of silence. With a surprising amount of strength, the petite girl proceeded in dragging the poor boy into the café.

Once inside, she let go of the Techno-Dweeb, causing him to smack his face against the carpet with a loud "Oof!"

Charice marched over to the counter. "I'd like a small cup of white chocolate served hot." She cast a dismissive glance at Tucker, who was still seated on the ground in a daze. "The goon on your carpet will take a medium-sized hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. Oh, and both are take-away, please."

The cashier heaved a low grunt in reply as he turned to make the desired drinks.

Tucker picked himself off the carpet and looked at Charice with curiosity-filled eyes. "How did 'cha know that I was gonna order that?"

"Simple. When you caught a cold last winter, I brought you to the same café in the mall and you ordered that same drink." She replied with a casual shrug.

Tucker was about to say something when the cashier piped up. "Here's your small white chocolate and medium hot chocolate, Miss…and Mister." He carefully pushed forward two Styrofoam cups sitting on the counter-top. "The total cost will be $9.75." (A/N: Whoa, expensive much?)

The bespectacled boy was shocked when Charice suddenly smiled at him sweetly, which was unlike her. "You're _paying_…" She sang out, taking their drinks along with her.

He grumbled something unintelligible under his breath as he whipped out a fade-brown wallet from one of his many pockets on his pants. He took out ten dollars and slammed it onto the counter-top, before stomping over his friend at a table tucked away in a quiet corner.

Tucker sat in a chair across her. "So, what do we do now?"

"We wait." Charice replied, never once tearing her turquoise eyes away from the couple sitting to her far left.

He raised an eyebrow. "Foooor…?"

The girl took a tiny sip of her white chocolate. "For Danny Phantom to reveal his human identity. Duh."

"Like how?" Tucker asked in disbelief. "The guy's been wearing that hoodie all day _long_!"

She rolled her eyes and placed the drink back onto the table. "He can't wear that thing _forever_. He's _bound_ to take it off sooner or later."

"Yeah, sure." He mumbled sarcastically. "And while we're at it, let's follow him to his secret hideout too, shall we?"

Suddenly, Charice slapped a hand over her coral-pink-glossed mouth and burst into slight giggles.

Tucker looked confused at her reaction. Most of the time when he spoke with sarcasm, she would either smack him, roll her eyes or reply, "Whatever", but laughing was not what he had been expecting. "What's so funny?"

"Look…at…Danny…Phantom…" She managed through her giggles as she lifted her index finger to point at the couple.

The Techno-Geek turned around to look at Sam and her date, before snorting. "Smooth, Phantom, _real_ smooth."

Danny Phantom had suddenly jumped up and landed face-first on the carpet.

The two continued to laugh their heads off until Tucker realized something. "Hey, where did they go?"

When Charice whipped her head to see that the couple's table was empty, she panicked instantly. "Oh no."

Together, they scrambled around to grab their things (inclusive of their unfinished beverages) and ran out of the café.

"For the record, I blame _you_, Foley." Charice seethed as she whirled 360 degrees on her sneakers to look for their currently missing targets.

"How was this my fault?" He demanded, peering into the sea of people as well.

Charice did not reply, for she had just spotted Danny Phantom in all his hooded glory, shaking Sam by the shoulders. "I see them, Tucker! Come on!" She darted into the crowd eagerly.

Tucker pushed his way through to catch up with the girl. He arrived beside her just in time to see Sam close her eyes and Danny Phantom run away. "Did Danny Phantom just break-up with her?" The Techno-Geek looked shocked.

Charice smacked his shoulder for the stupid question. "He probably couldn't maintain his human form, _Moron_."

She walked in the direction where Danny Phantom ran off to. "Come on, let's follow him."

Tucker did not notice that she had moved off, for he was busy daydreaming about a certain head cheerleader from school. "Paulina…" He slurred, turning to his friend, only to find her gone. "Charice?"

He spotted his friend at a clearing a long distance away and pitched himself forward. "Hey, why didn't 'cha wait for meeeeeeeeeeeee…?" He wailed, attracting crazy looks from everyone around him.

* * *

**(A/N: Mwahaha… A small cliffy with Danny and Sam :)**

**Now I'm having a game: Guess which ghost had interrupted their date. Send in your answers through reviews :P **(Fadey: I changed my mind about the ghost I told you, so now _you_ have to guess, too! XD)

**The prizes? You'll find out in the next chapter ;) Although, I apologize in advance that I can't really give them to you… x_x**

**Oh, and please tell me this: Do you want Charice and Tucker to find out Danny's secret? Tell me in reviews! Majority shall win, so tell me as fast as you can. I need to type out the next chapter, you know ;)**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	10. And So We Plan

**(A/N: I am SO sorry for the late update! X_X I had writers' block, yet I can't send this to Fadey to help me, or else it would've given the game away!**

**Anyway, I have to say this: Wow. The reviews definitely came in fast O.o Here's what you people voted!**

Results for the Ghosts:

Skulker: 5 _(drewlovesaturday, aras the crazy writer, Gracie407, pyrongirl, Squeeze)_

Lunch Lady: 1 _(Codiak)_

Johnny 13/ Kitty: 1 _(epobbp)_

Box Ghost: 5 _(epobbp, Fadey, The Silver Radio, pyrongirl, turkehead987, Sunshine-Midnight123)_

Technus: 1 _(aras the crazy writer)_

**Yes, I even counted your second guesses xD Skulker was the original choice, but while I was writing chapter 9, I changed my mind. Box Ghost…hmm… That's interesting… I would love to have Danny beat the crap out of him for ruining his date with Sam, but I was already whipping up the start of this chapter…so yeah…**

**By the way, since none of you guessed right, the winners are those who guessed Skulker (closest)! Congrats **drewlovesaturday, aras the crazy writer, Gracie407, pyrongirl and Squeeze**! The five of you get Cyber Danny Phantom shaped cookies! :DD**

Results for the Secret:

Yes! Charice & Tucker should know!—6 _(Codiak, epobbp, Gracie407, turkehead987, Happy Cheerio, The Silver Radio)_

No! Charice & Tucker shouldn't find out!—3 _(Biisaiyowaq, aras the crazy writer, Sunshine-Midnight123)_

**I sincerely apologize to those who didn't want them to find out, but as I have mentioned before, majority rules, so they shall find out Danny's little ghost secret. So please, I beg the three of you who were on the 'NO!' side, don't send your angry cyber-mobs after me! X.x**

* * *

**My fantastic reviewers:****drewlovesaturday, DaLite, Codiak,****TheNamesTheyGiveAreStupid -Anonymous-, epobbp, Biisaiyowaq, The Silver Radio, Gracie407, pyrongirl, turkehead987, Fadey, Kpfan72491, Sunshine-Midnight123, Squeeze -Anonymous-, Happy Cheerio**

**Codiak: **Actually, that wasn't so lame. It's a good idea… ;) Oh, and I think your profile picture changed, right?

**TheNamesTheyGiveAreStupid: ***Scolding myself* SEE! _SEE_! I _knew_ they were overcharged x_x Anyway, thanks for telling me :)

**Biisaiyowaq: **I love her name too! :D But apparently spell-check doesn't like it. They see her name as a grammatical error xD

**turkehead987: **A dollar? Wow, that's cheap. Stuff sold in Singapore are super ex =.=

**Squeeze:** Sam as a shy girl was quite a challenge to crank out, but it was funny ;) And no, Charice doesn't like Tuck that way. The two are goofballs together XD Oh, and thanks for the praises! *Curtseys* Can you believe that this is my first multi-chapter story and it's goin' so well? I'm literally jumping for joy right now ^.^ One more thing: You can use Internet on your _phone_? O.O**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**=With Sam & Danny=**

_**1…2…3…4…5…**_

**Her eyes cracked open.**

**And Danny was nowhere in sight.**

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**=With Charice & Tucker=**

**She walked in the direction where Danny Phantom ran off to. "Come on, let's follow him."**

**Tucker did not notice that she had moved off, for he was busy daydreaming about a certain head cheerleader from school. "Paulina…" He slurred, turning to his friend, only to find her gone. "Charice?"**

**He spotted his friend at a clearing a long distance away and pitched himself forward. "Hey, why didn't 'cha wait for meeeeeeeeeeeee…?" He wailed, attracting crazy looks from everyone around him.**

* * *

Chapter 10—And So We Plan

=The Annual State Fair, With Danny=

~Normal POV~

_Man, she must be thinkin' that I'm such a jerk for ditchin' her like that…_ Danny's insides were eaten by guilt as he ducked into a clearing behind a tent. Without shouting his usual battle cry, he transformed into his ghost half and took to the air, his neon-green eyes searching for the ghost.

"It's nice to see you again, little badger." A sickeningly familiar voice called out from behind him.

Danny whirled around so fast, he almost got whiplash. "_Plasmius_…" He hissed, venom spewing from each word. "What do you want _now_?"

Vlad smirked evilly as he formed a pick ecto-blast in his hands and shot it at the Fair randomly, causing a few hysterical screams from people on the ground. "As usual, to steal _Maddie_ away from Jack and to get _you_ to be my son, of course."

Danny felt his stomach lurch when he heard that sentence. "First off, _eww_. Bad mental images. Second, I will _never_ in a thousand _years_ be the son of a crazed up _fruit-loop_."

The red-eyed ghost glared at him and put both hands behind his back. "So you'd rather be with a bumbling _idiot_ like Jack Fenton than to rule with the future _King_ of the universe?"

"Uh yeah, since he _is_ my dad." Danny shot back. "Besides, you need some _serious_ therapy. Or you could always get a cat."

"I suggest you re-consider, _Daniel_." Vlad warned as he formed a bigger pink ecto-blast behind him. "The consequences are _dire_ if you test my patience."

The younger halfa snorted. "Yeah right. And the consequence of testing _my_ patience is a week in the Fenton Thermos!"

"I beg to differ." Vlad growled, shooting the ecto-blast at Danny, hitting him square in the chest. "And I am _NOT_ getting a _cat_!"

The green-eyed boy screamed in pain as he was sent flying straight towards a metal pole. He smacked into it and landed onto the ground hard.

* * *

=With Sam=

"Danny?" Sam called out, searching the crowd for her currently missing date. _Where did that boy _go_?_ She was worried for him; it wasn't like him to vanish into thin air without saying anything.

Suddenly a person behind her shrieked. Sam turned around just in time to see something pink hit the Fair, causing an explosion. All fun was forgotten when all hell broke loose, as more and more people noticed the two ghosts flying overhead.

Everyone had mixed reactions. While most people raced towards the nearest exits, few of them stayed behind to gawk and point at the two ghosts. Sam would have left with the crowd to head for safety like Danny asked her to, but she had gotten a glimpse of a familiar DP insignia. _That's Danny Phantom!_

**(A/N: Okay, before we go on, remember: This is with Sam, so she thinks Danny and Phantom are two separate people. Hence, I write 'Phantom' instead of 'Danny' here. Oh, and because Danny calls him Plasmius, Sam thinks that's his name. Just to let you know first ;P)**

So there she was, fighting against the rush of people to reach Amity Park's local Ghost Hero and the ghost unknown to her. Just then, Phantom let out a pained scream and crash-landed a few feet away from her.

"Phantom!" Sam cried out when she looked up and saw him. She quickly ran towards the Ghost Boy and kneeled down next to him. "Oh my God, Phantom, are you alright?" Realizing the stupidity of that question, she flushed in mild embarrassment. "Sorry, standard question."

The mentioned boy blinked slowly and tried to get up, but winced in pain. He had taken Plasmius' blow pretty hard. _Argh… My head's spinnin'… Why are there two Sams in front of me…? Wait a sec_, Sam_?_ He gasped when he realized he was staring into the concerned amethyst orbs of his date. _Oh no… Sam's in danger… Plasmius is around… Argh, my head's still achin'…_

"Sam…" He managed weakly. "There's…a powerful ghost around…head for safety…"

The girl shook her head fervently. "I can't _leave_ you here, Phantom, you're hurt!"

_Argh, she can be so stubborn sometimes… It's attractive yet dangerous at the same time… But for now…It's most _definitely_ dangerous!_ Phantom made another attempt to get up and succeeded this time. Before he could drag Sam away to safety, Plasmius had already swept to the ground with a loud thud.

The pointy-teethed ghost smirked when he caught sight of the small Goth with his nemesis. He floated towards the two. "Now, who is this young, defenseless little _brat_?" He hefted the girl up by the back of her faux-leather jacket with ease and stared at her unnervingly.

Even though she was scared out of her wits by this other ghost, that did not stop her from feeling beyond miffed at being called a 'young, defenseless little brat'. She shot him a death glare. "Let me go, you… you old fruit-loop!" She squirmed, hoping to make him loosen his grip, but to no avail.

He threw Sam a dirty look before letting it slide over to Phantom. "Apparently, you and your little girlfriend like to call me the same thing, _Daniel_."

_Daniel? I thought his name's Danny Phantom…_ Sam frowned slightly as she continued to struggle.

"Leave her alone, Plasmius." Phantom barked as fiercely as he could in his weakened state. "This is between you and me, so leave her outta this."

The ghost known as Plasmius quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And since _when_ do I take orders from _you_, Daniel?"

Phantom growled and clenched his fists as his neon-green eyes flared angrily at his enemy.

Plasmius shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk… There's that _temper_ of yours again. You'll have to learn how to control it if you're going to rule with me one day."

"Oh? And since _when_ did I say I was gonna rule with _you_, Master Fruit-loop?" Phantom mocked.

This seemed to have angered the red-eyed ghost, for he created a pink ecto-blast shaped like a knife with his free hand and held it right at Sam's neck. "Watch what you say or do, my boy, because one wrong move, and your precious little girlfriend gets it."

Right on cue, Phantom gasped, while Sam stopped struggling and let out an ear-piercing scream.

* * *

=With Charice & Tucker=

"Why…didn't 'cha…wait…for me?" Tucker choked out between pants when he reached Charice. _This seems to be happenin' once too often…_ He grumbled mentally, as he toppled over behind his friend in a dramatic faint.

"Be quiet, you loon!" Charice chided from her spot behind the tent. She watched intently as Danny Phantom changed back into his ghost form after a bright light engulfed him. He launched himself into the blue sky, and seemed like he was looking for something.

"Uhh… Charice?" Tucker's shaky voice called out from behind her, but she was so absorbed in her observing that she did not notice. He eyed someone with a red cape in the air nervously and yelped louder. "Charice!" When she _still_ gave no response, his trembling hands grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her back and forth violently. "CHARICE!"

The mentioned girl jumped in surprise and successfully broke free from Tucker's shoulder-shakings. Slightly annoyed, she hit him in the arm. "Jeez Tucker, quit shaking me like a maraca! What in the world is your problem?"

Ignoring the dull throb in his arm along with her questions, he tugged her brown hair backwards (gently of course, or else there might be Hell to pay later) and pointed a shaky finger at the red caped someone floating behind Danny Phantom.

Charice let out a soft gasp at the two floating directly overhead.. "Who the heck is _that_?" She gave the Techno-Geek a disapproving look. "And why didn't you tell me about this?"

Tucker gaped at her. "Excuse _me_? Who was the one who was observin' Danny Phantom so intently that she didn't notice me callin' your name? It certainly wasn't _me_!"

The girl paused, struggling to think up a good retort. She opted to change the subject instead. "That's not so important right now. More importantly, we have to—"

She got interrupted by a pink blast that hit nearby, causing the people around them to panic. Tucker, being his usual scaredy-cat self, had started to scream girlishly and grabbed his friend's arm. "It's another ghost attack! Let's get outta here!"

Charice, however, had other plans. She had just seen her Gothic friend dive backwards into the human stamped. _Is that girl silly or just plain dumb? There's a ghost attack and she just went in the opposite direction of the exit!_

She gritted her teeth and turned to Tucker with a determined expression on her face. "You head for the nearest exit without me. I have to go after Sam!"

"_What?_" The African-American boy squeaked out. Apparently he was so frightened that his voice had been raised by several octaves. "Charice, have you gone completely _bonkers_? It's really dangerous to go back durin' a ghost attack, ya know!"

The brunette scoffed. "Don't be an idiot Tuck, of _course_ I know it's dangerous! That's why I have to drag Sam away from here!" When she saw his apprehensive gaze, her gaze softened a little bit and quickly attempted to reassure him. "Don't worry too much, I'll be just fine. I'll be back in no time at all." She started to move away. "See you later!" She called over her shoulder.

Wasting no time, she darted into the crowd, ignoring the frantic cries of her dark-skinned companion above other people's shrieks of fear.

* * *

=With Sam & Danny=

"I thought I told you to leave this girl _outta_ this!" Phantom yelled. His eyes had turned a sickly-yellow colour as he glared at his arch-enemy.

"You're in no position to order me around, Daniel." Plasmius replied, a completely fake smile plastered across his face. "Besides, I _did_ warn you of the consequences if you test my patience, did I not?"

As much as Phantom wanted to punch the smug ghost in the face, the fellow was right. He currently had the upper-hand. _And Sam, too…_ The ghost boy thought bitterly, as he hung his head. _I've gotta figure out a way to save her, pronto! Maybe I should just give in…in exchange for Sam to be released…_

His mind made up, he looked up to make eye contact with Plasmius. "If I join you, would you let Sa—I mean, the girl go?" Please_ tell me he didn't hear that slip-up…_ Phantom prayed. _He would _never_ free Sam if he knew how close I am to her…_

Luckily for the Ghost Boy, the red-eyed ghost did not notice his mistake. "I give you my word, little badger. You come with me, and the brat leaves unharmed." His tone was solemn, but he had an evil grin on his face. Without Phantom noticing, he crossed his fingers behind his cape.

Sam, in the meantime, had seen it. _Oh no, the creep's lying!_ She became more frantic_. If Phantom goes with him, we're both doomed! _Just then, she got struck by an idea. _If I could just distract this Plasmius away from us, I might be able to be escape…_

* * *

=With Charice=

"Where _is_ she?" Charice murmured to herself as she stood by the side of a random tent to avoid getting trampled on by panicked mobs.

_If Sam's on a date with Danny Phantom's human persona, she should know who he is._ The girl reasoned in her head logically. _If that's the case, wherever Phantom is right now, is where I can find Sam…_ Her turquoise eyes quickly flickered up to look above her, in hopes of finding Amity Park's local hero.

Sure enough, Danny Phantom was hovering in the air overhead. There was also a red-eyed ghost holding onto something. _Wait a second…_ Charice squinted. _I know those combat boots anywhere…_ She gasped. _Oh no, it's Sam!_

The brunette tried to clear her muddled thoughts and began to devise a plan…

* * *

**(A/N: Okay, I'm exhausted. Please don't shoot me… The next chapter will be better, I swear! Just be patient :D**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	11. The Injured & Unsolved Mysteries

**(A/N: Before you begin the item-throwings at me, lemme talk first! I've been procrastinating a lot, because I was flipping between my accounts on FF.N, YouTube, deviantART, Twitter, Yahoo and Hotmail. I can tell you it's draining to do that sort of thing, and I hope to never try that again. Well, at least not all at once XD**

**Sam is…slightly daring and a bit irrational. Danny…is dim, as usual. Charice is spazzy, for some unexplainable reason. Vlad (whom I don't own) is a crazed-up Fruit-loop, as always :3**

**LISTEN UP TUCKER FANS! The said Techno-Geek doesn't appear in this chapter at all. If you want me to put him back in the next chapter, tell me in reviews! I'll put him back if at least five of you say so in reviews. Thank you! :P**

**Disclaimer's in Chapter 1. Jeez, do I **_**have**_** to keep **_**sayin'**_** this? =.=**

* * *

**Thank you, reviewers: Fadey, Codiak, aras the crazy writer, Hinata28h (Chap 3 as well), totallyPSYCHED, The Silver Radio, Kpfan72491, Looka'sMagicHell, turkehead987, Squeeze -Anonymous-, dbzgtfan2004, Biisaiyowaq**

**aras the crazy writer: **Phew! At least I know that one of you won't send angry mobs after me XD

**Hinata28h: **Thanks for the info! :D

**totallyPSYCHED: **Lol, I can read my own story in less than one hour too! X3 Glad you like it :P

**The Silver Radio:** Thanks! :) I was just sitting in from of my computer when it hit me: Why not make Vlad interrupt the date? ;D Lol, who can hear them when they're like, hovering in the air? X3

**Looka'sMagicHell: **Haha, welcome aboard "The Newbie & The Hottie" express! And yesh, Danny's the adorable goof while Charice bullies Tucker to keep him in check XP

**Squeeze: **LOL, glad you like the cookie. It was specially baked fresh from the cyber oven :3 All the characters are just awesome :D Oh, and lemme guess: Your phone's an iPhone, isn't it?

**Biisaiyowaq: **Ahhhh! *Gets Danny to form an ecto-shield over me* :P**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**=With Sam & Danny=**

**His mind made up, he looked up to make eye contact with Plasmius. "If I join you, would you let Sa—I mean, the girl go?" Please**_** tell me he didn't hear that slip-up…**_** Phantom prayed. **_**He would **_**never**_** free Sam if he knew how close I am to her…**_

**Luckily for the Ghost Boy, the red-eyed ghost did not notice his mistake. "I give you my word, little badger. You come with me, and the brat leaves unharmed." His tone was solemn, but he had an evil grin on his face. Without Phantom noticing, he crossed his fingers behind his cape.**

**Sam, in the meantime, had seen it. **_**Oh no, the creep's lying!**_** She became more frantic. **_**If Phantom goes with him, we're both doomed! **_**Just then, she got struck by an idea. **_**If I could just distract this Plasmius away from us, I might be able to be escape…**_

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**=With Charice=**

**Sure enough, Danny Phantom was hovering in the air overhead. There was also a red-eyed ghost holding onto something. **_**Wait a second…**_** Charice squinted. **_**I know those combat boots anywhere…**_** She gasped. **_**Oh no, it's Sam!**_

**The brunette tried to clear her muddled thoughts and began to devise a plan…**

* * *

Chapter 11—The Injured And Unsolved Mysteries

=The Annual State Fair, With Sam & Danny=

~Normal POV~

Sam glanced up at Plasmius. He was too busy smirking at Phantom to notice that the girl had turned around while still in his grip so that she was facing him. She quickly swung her left foot forward and kicked him as hard as he could.

"YEOW!" The ghost shrieked, scrunching up his face into a peculiar expression as he clutched his leg. In the midst of his pain, Sam had slipped from his grasp, plummeting straight down to meet certain doom. She squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself…

…for a _trampoline_?

Sam opened her amethyst eyes in shock, as she bounced up and down on a bright pink trampoline. She glanced up just in time to see Plasmius smack into a nearby metal pole and crash head-first into the ground.

Confused, Sam looked at Phantom, thinking he had thrown a blast at him…

…only to see his utterly baffled expression as he scratched his head, staring at his arch-enemy.

The two of them were sharing similar thoughts…

_If Phantom didn't hit Plasmius, then who did?_

_What the heck just happened?_

* * *

=With Charice=

…then again, maybe she _didn't_ have a plan, after all.

Charice looked around wildly, searching for something to distract the ghost. Her turquoise eyes rested on a long wooden stake leaning against a nearby tent. Then she eyed the trampoline next to it. Her mouth curled upwards to form a grin. _Just what I needed…_

With one slender hand clutching onto the stake and the other gripping onto the trampoline, the petite girl dragged the items so that they were directly beneath the target. She positioned the trampoline under the ghost holding Sam and readied herself with the stake.

Out of the blue, for some unknown reason, the ghost shrieked and held onto his leg, dropping Sam.

Charice gasped_. Oh no, I can't let Sam see me!_

Quickly, she dove in front of the trampoline, accidentally (or was it?) swinging the stake at Plasmius before he could dodge or turn intangible.

Her expression was blank as the Fruit-loop surfed the air, then she winced when he hit the metal pole before he came to a stop with a head-plant to the ground.

"Well…_That_ was certainly interesting…" The brunette muttered to no one in particular.

* * *

=With Sam & Danny=

Once he got over his initial shock, Phantom floated over to Sam, who was still dazed and bouncing on the pink trampoline. He caught the girl in his arms when she bounced up.

Sam blinked up at Phantom sheepishly. "We _have_ to stop meeting like this…"

The Ghost Boy chuckled, his neon-green eyes dancing in amusement. "You've got that right." He set her down on the ground gingerly. "But right now I've got a score to settle with _Plasmius_…"

He shot up and flew in the direction in which his arch-enemy had fallen.

When he got there, Plasmius was seated on the ground, staring into thin air. The moment he saw Phantom, he grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Maddie! You've come to me at last!" He exclaimed.

Phantom's eyebrows shot up to the sky. _Maddie?_

"Oh Maddie, I _knew_ you would leave that bumbling idiot Jack _Fenton_ for me!" Plasmius cheered, throwing his arms around the confused Ghost Boy.

_O-kaaaayy…._ Phantom cringed from being in contact with "Uncle Vlad_". Either he's _really_ gone nuts (and I seriously stress on the _really_), or he hit his head harder than I thought…_

"Umm… Look, Vlad…I think you've gotten the wrong idea…" Phantom began, pretending that he was his mother. "I still love Jack Fenton very much. Like, in _looooove_ with him."

Plasmius let go of the Ghost Boy immediately, looking like he just got punched in the stomach. "But Maddie! After all we've been through…Why?" He wailed, causing the boy to wince away from him. "What does _Jack_ have that _I_ don't?"

"Oh, he has a _lot_ that you don't. For starters, he doesn't need therapy…or a cat." Phantom smirked.

Suddenly, the pointy-teethed ghost frowned and shook his head. "Argh… What in the name of butter biscuits _happened_ just now?"

"You tell _me_…" The neon-green eyed ghost sighed. "I've been confused since Sam kicked ya in the leg…" He muttered the last part under his breath.

Plasmius' head shot up. "_You_!" In the blink of an eye, he had the boy up against a wall. "You had better explain to me how a wooden _stake_ ended up in my _face_, or _else_…" He growled threateningly.

The Ghost Boy struggled to breathe out a reply. "I don't…" He charged up a green ecto-blast and shot it at Plasmius, causing him to fly backwards. "…_know_!" He paused for a second before guffawing. "Wait, the almighty Vlad _Plasmius_ became nutty (well, nuttier than usual) 'cos of a wooden _stake_? This is _priceless_, man!"

In the midst of his loud laughter, he did not see that Plasmius had gotten up and was glowering at him.

The next thing he knew, he was screaming his head off and was sent flying backwards into a tree a few feet away.

Plasmius smiled sadistically, pink smoke still spewing from his black-gloved hand. "Who's the one laughing _now_, Daniel?" He asked the air around him, before vanishing from sight.

* * *

=With Sam=

The Goth girl stood where Phantom had left her for a couple of minutes, contemplating what to do next.

_I still need to go find Danny… Yet I haven't seen him at all since he left me out of the blue. _Sam tapped her chin thoughtfully. _Hmm… I wonder where Phantom went…_ She mused. _Maybe I could ask him if he's seen Danny, since they're close friends and all… Besides, he might get hurt again…_

With those thoughts fresh in her mind, she shuffled towards the direction Amity Park's ghostly hero had gone to.

Soon after, the metal pole came to view, but to play it safe, Sam decided to hide behind the nearest tent. Phantom was guffawing loudly at something.

_What's so funny?_ She thought, wrinkling her nose in confusion. Then she noticed the angry aura coming from Plasmius. _Uh oh… _That_ can't be good… Maybe I should tell Phantom…_

Before she could shout out the warning, the evil red-eyed ghost had attacked Phantom with a pink ecto-blast, hitting him square in the chest (yet again). He shrieked horribly and was sent flying towards a large oak tree nearby.

Plasmius muttered something, but she paid no attention to the Fruit-loop. She was far more concerned about her ghostly friend. When the red-caped ghost disappeared, she quickly darted from behind the tent and ran towards the oak tree.

* * *

=With Charice=

Charice watched as Danny Phantom held onto Sam and exchanged words with her. She rolled her turquoise eyes when her Gothic friend blushed. _Jeez, how lovey-dovey can those two _get_?_

When the Ghost Boy left Sam (at last), the brunette decided to follow Sam's every move, having high hopes that she would provide a clue to help her find out who Danny Phantom's human persona was.

She yawned sleepily as she watched Sam do nothing but stand stock still for a few minutes. _I wish I'd gotten some sleep last night…after I ended the conversation with Sam last night, I immediately called Tucker… Now I'm really tired…_

As Charice continued to eye her friend, her eyelids began to droop. _Maybe if…I doze off a minute…I won't feel…so tired…_ With that, she slumped against the side of the trampoline and fell asleep.

After what seemed a long while, the girl woke up with a start. She sat up, rubbing her turquoise eyes before looking around. She gasped. _Oh no, where am I? And how long have I been knocked out?_ A quick glance at her watch told her that she was asleep for only ten minutes.

_Okay…That's not so bad…_ She looked around to find Sam. Her Gothic friend was nowhere in sight. _Now _this_ is bad! _How_ does she keep _disappearing_ like that?_

Then Charice remembered the creepy-looking ghost that held Sam hostage. _Maybe that Fruit-loop got a hold of her again! _She panicked. _That means I have to whack him with the stake _again_! I better go find the creep!_

She reached down for the long wooden stake on the floor and sprinted madly to reach the metal pole she saw Plasmius hit moments ago.

When she got there, all she managed to see was the creepy red-eyed ghost disappear, and he was alone. _Darn it, now I can't use the stake against him, especially since he's not holding Sam hostage…. _She grunted mentally, dropping the stake. Now_ how do I find Sam?_

Just then, the brunette heard footsteps. Automatically, she turned to where the sound was coming from and saw a familiar feminine figure emerge from a nearby tent. She squinted at the figure dashing as though someone was chasing after her with a chainsaw_. Wait a second…is that… Sam?_

Charice watched her friend run towards an oak tree for a few seconds, before determining her next move.

_I should follow her… After all, there's still the mystery of Danny Phantom to solve…_ She smirked, her sneakers padding against the ground softly as she walked.

* * *

**(A/N: And this chapter's done!**

**Originally I had writers' block for this chapter, so I had sent this to Fadey for help. However, I've re-vamped it so it looks completely different, apart from the scene where Charice whacks Vlad with a wooden stake. So please thank Fadey in your reviews, for she came up with that idea and helped clear my writers' block. Thanks, Fadey! :P**

**I'd also like to thank Evilest Angel. She offered to help me when I was chatting with her in a PM, but I refused. Thanks anyway, TEA! :D By the way, go check out her story! It's called "Why Do You Stay?" It's totally awesome. Remove the spaces:**

**Link: **www. fanfiction .net/s/6419016/1/Why_Do_You_Stay

**Also, I'm going to have a poll right here, since it's more convenient: Should I have an epilogue after the last chapter? The epilogue would be at school the next day. Tell me in reviews! Once again, majority rules! Thank you (again)! :D**

**Oh and one last thing: for all Tucker fans, I hope you read the message in the first A/N above. It's just a reminder ;)**

**And maybe I can squeeze out the (most likely) last chapter of this story before the end of the year…so review and stay tuned! :D**

**~M00nlite Maiden :))**


	12. Secrets Revealed?

**(A/N: I'm so so so so soooo sorry I haven't updated! D: For those who know me (people like Fadey and TEA), you already know what happened to me, but for those who **_**don't**_** know me (as in not that close to me), here's the thing: I got banned from using the computer 'cos my mom found out I haven't done my homework at all. PLEASE DON'T SHOOT ME (apart from Sunshine-Midnight123, whom already told me she wouldn't…)! O_O"**

**Okay, originally, this was gonna be the last chapter, followed by the epilogue, but this chapter ended up so uber long, that I decided to cut it down to become a normal-sized one :P**

* * *

Results for the Epilogue:

Yes!—5 _(Codiak, Fadey, The Silver Radio, aras the crazy writer, Squeeze)_

No!—0

I'm fine with anything!—1 _(epobbp)_

**Well, it's settled: There will be an epilogue after the chapter following this one! …erm, did that make sense to you? XD**

Results for bringing Tucker back:

4_(Codiak, The Silver Radio, totallyPSYCHED, Looka'sMagicHell)_

**It's not 5 of you…but don't re-load that gun just yet! I've decided to let Tucker appear in the epilogue, since there **_**is**_** gonna be one ;D**

* * *

**Shout-outs to my awesome reviewers: **Codiak, Fadey -Chap 1 as well-, The Silver Radio, epobbp, child who is cool, Evilest Angel, totallyPSYCHED, aras the crazy writer, Kpfan72491, Biisaiyowaq, Danni99981 -Chap 1, 3, 8 and 9-, Squeeze -Anonymous-, Hinata28h, Looka'sMagicHell, Phantomgal-66

**The Silver Radio: **Yay, procrastinating FTW! XD

**Evilest Angel:** I will always support you! Your videos and stories rock my world! :D Vlad goin' nuts FTW! LOL…and I agree, Charice is a very sneaky girl in this story. As for the New Year thing…that's a great idea, but by the time school re-opens I'm a goner. There's usually homework on the first day of school. LOTS of 'em =_= Thanks again! :P

**totallyPSYCHED:** Glad you LOLed! That was my aim when I wrote that! ;)

**Biisaiyowaq:** …I'm a goner, aren't I? X3

**Danni99981:** Thanks for the info! Maybe I can edit it after I finish all the chapters :3 And good guessing! Here's your cookie! ;3

**Squeeze:** Yup, you'd better watch out for her! XP And phew, you're not using an iPhone! :D I don't use it. I don't like it, no matter how many freakin' apps it has!...I'm ranting again, aren't I? +_+"

**Phantomgal-66:** Aww, thank you so much for all your compliments! :D And I don't really have any questions about U.S….at least not at the moment ;) And the fight _is_ a tad long…maybe I should've made each chapter longer XD**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**=With Danny=**

**In the midst of his loud laughter, he did not see that Plasmius had gotten up and was glowering at him.**

**The next thing he knew, he was screaming his head off and was sent flying backwards into a tree a few feet away.**

**Plasmius smiled sadistically, pink smoke still spewing from his black-gloved hand. "Who's the one laughing **_**now**_**, Daniel?" He asked the air around him, before vanishing from sight.**

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**=With Sam=**

**Before she could shout out the warning, the evil red-eyed ghost had attacked Phantom with a pink ecto-blast, hitting him square in the chest (yet again). He shrieked horribly and was sent flying towards a large oak tree nearby.**

**Plasmius muttered something, but she paid no attention to the Fruit-loop. She was far more concerned about her ghostly friend. When the red-caped ghost disappeared, she quickly darted from behind the tent and ran towards the oak tree.**

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**=With Charice=**

**Just then, the brunette heard footsteps. Automatically, she turned to where the sound was coming from and saw a familiar feminine figure emerge from a nearby tent. She squinted at the figure dashing as though someone was chasing after her with a chainsaw. **_**Wait a second…is that… Sam?**_

**Charice watched her friend run towards an oak tree for a few seconds, before determining her next move.**

_**I should follow her… After all, there's still the mystery of Danny Phantom to solve…**_** She smirked, her sneakers padding against the ground softly as she walked.**

* * *

Chapter 12—Secrets Revealed?

=The Annual State Fair, With Sam & Danny=

~Normal POV~

"Phantom?" Sam called out timidly as she moved another step towards the large oak tree. "Are you alright? Say someth…" The words died on her purple-glossed lips when she heard the rustling of some leaves above her. She looked up before letting out a squeak of surprise when a blur of black and white fell down and landed in front of her.

She blinked a few times before glancing down at her feet. The gasp that came from her was immediate. "Oh my God, Phantom!"

Phantom was sprawled face-down on the ground, his shocking white bangs falling into his face, partially covering his exhausted expression as well as the cuts on his face. She could see that a part of his chest (which happened to be the part that had the DP emblem) was bare, since he got ecto-blasted in the same area twice by a certain Fruit-loop. His wounds were also oozing out ectoplasm with slight traces of blood.

The ebony-haired girl took a cautious step forward before kneeling beside the boy so that she could get a closer look at him. He was apparently out cold, but at least he was still breathing. _How _do_ ghosts breathe, anyway? Aren't they supposed to be…you know, _dead_?_ She furrowed her eyebrows. _No matter… Now, I have to—_

Her thoughts were interrupted when a bright neon-blue flash blinded her temporarily. _What the _heck_?_ She opened her amethyst eyes and blinked to clear away the white spots dancing in her vision. Her jaw dropped at the sight of her date in all his black-hooded glory sprawled before her.

* * *

~Sam's POV~

Needless to say, I was utterly shocked by the sight before me. _Beyond_ shocked, even. Heck, I was very _definition_ of shocked. If you looked the word up in the dictionary, you would probably see my _face_ printed directly _next_ to it.

At the same time, my brain automatically set itself to run at top speed.

_Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY _GOSH_!_

_Where did Danny Phantom (the totally cute Protector of Amity Park) go?_

_Why is Danny (the equally cute Heartthrob at school who's also my date) lying in the _exact_ position Phantom was mere _seconds_ ago?_

_Also, what the _heck_ was that bright flash of light just now?_

_And most importantly, why on earth am I asking myself all these questions in my head?_

I took in a shuddering breath (more like gasped for oxygen, though) and let it out slowly, finally cranking my brain so that it was back to normal again. Then something clicked in my head. I recalled some stuff…

* * *

**-Flashback 1-**

**I turned to Charice. "And he is…?"**

**"Daniel Fenton, but everyone calls him Danny. He's Casper High's Heartthrob, and well known to make nearly the entire population of girls swoon. He's also the only A-lister who talks to B-listers, C-listers and Losers."**

**-End of Flashback 1-**

O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O.O

**-Flashback 2-**

**I smiled at him nervously, unsure of what to say to a ghost who had just saved my life. "Uhh… Thanks for saving me back there. I didn't catch your name though…"**

**"I'm Danny. Danny Phantom, but you can just call me Phantom. Don't listen to the news, my name's not Inviso-Bill." He chuckled in a low voice. "Do you need a ride home?"**

**-End of Flashback 2-**

* * *

_Danny _Fenton_. Danny _Phantom_._

_Oh God, how _dumb_ can I possible _get_?_

_Danny _is_ Phantom!_

_And he's _definitely_ going to have to explain to me why he didn't tell me about this before…or else _somebody's_ going to be _really_ sorry…even if he _is_ dead… But wait, is he seriously dead?_

…

_I'll think about that _after_ I help Phan—ah, Danny. Man, _that's_ going to take some time to get used to…_

I reached into my black purse and produced the mini first-aid kit (at the same time silently thanking my Grandma for nagging me into bringing it). Then I realized something. _I have to take off…his hoodie and both his shirts…_ I felt my face burn slightly. _This…is…awkward…_

I shook my head to clear off any stray **(A/N: More like dirty XD)** thoughts. Then I quickly unzipped his black hoodie and took off his green dress shirt. When it came to his white undershirt, I bit on my lower lip in hesitation. _It's for his own good… I think…_

With that, I slipped his white T-shirt off and gaped at his bare chest.

His upper torso was bleeding (sort of), but not as badly as I expected it would be. A large wound right smack in the middle of his chest was oozing out some sort of green goop, along with traces of a red substance which I assumed was blood). Around the wound were what looked like numerous battle scars. He was also sporting rather well-defined muscles and slight six-pack.

_Of _course_ he has muscles; He fights ghosts as Danny Phantom all the time!_ I rolled my amethyst eyes. _Besides, I better treat his wounds that seem to be mysteriously getting better as the time flies by…_

**(A/N: Before we go on, I have to say this first: I've never done first-aid before, so if I get some facts wrong, please tell me! Thank you! :P)**

I took out a bottle of medication (which contains alcohol) and carefully poured a small amount onto a clean cotton-ball. I dabbed it against Danny's wound as gently as I could. The boy flinched as I did so, but was apparently still knocked out. My cheeks got warmer as I continued to stare at his chest, so I picked up my pace and treated the large cut as fast as possible, before smoothing out a rectangular bandage over it.

_There, that's settled…now to put him back in his clothes before he wakes up and asks questions that would probably make me die of embarrassment…_

I clumsily tugged the white T-shirt over Danny's head, lifting his arms as they got in the way. Then I fumbled with the white buttons on his dress shirt. I hastily shoved him into his black hoodie and zipped it up slowly...of course, not without peeking at his body one last time.

I quickly caught myself, though. _What on earth is wrong with me? _I chastised myself. _I can't peep at my friend's body like _that_…. No matter _how_ hot…._

After clearing my thoughts, I settled down next to Danny. He was fast asleep with a tiny blissful smile on his face, his chest rising and falling as he breathed.

He looked so peaceful that I could not help myself. My gaze softened and I smiled gently at his sleeping figure, before leaning against the sturdy tree trunk as I waited patiently for him to wake up.

_And give me some answers, too…_

* * *

=With Charice=

A certain brunette pursed her coral-pink painted lips as she watched Sam move a step closer to the oak tree. She was currently crouching behind another random tent, which happened to be really close to the tree. In fact, it was so close that Charice could see Sam's features very clearly.

_This is good for me, I can monitor her from here…without her knowing…_ She smiled with satisfaction, before her face contorted into a look of shock when something fell out of the tree.

_Hold up, that's not a something… It's…it's…_ She squinted. _Danny Phantom! How absolutely _shocking_…_ She continued dryly.

Charice looked on, seeing Sam kneel down next to the seemingly unconscious Ghost Boy. She was bored until she saw a familiar neon-blue light around him. She perked up instantly. _He's transforming back into his human disguise! Maybe I can finally see who his human counterpart really is…_

She groaned when she caught sight of the familiar black-hoodied boy. _Jeez, I can't _believe_ he's _still_ wearing that thing! Maybe he'll never take it off… Like Tucker said earlier... Maybe he's right after all…_ She stopped short. _Wait, since _when_ is _Tucker_ ever right?_ She shook her head. _I'm _so_ going to need therapy…for…_that_…_

Her thoughts slowed down as Sam began to take off Danny Phantom's hoodie. She scooted closer in anticipation as the black clothing was taken away…

…but was disappointed when Sam leaned over him, blocking his face from the girl's view. _Dang, I was sooo close, too…_

The girl blinked when her Gothic friend dropped a green dress-shirt onto the ground, followed by a white T-shirt. _What the heck is she doing over there?_

Her question was answered when she caught a glimpse of a bare-chested hero.

* * *

~Charice's POV~

I felt the uncontrollable blush that had crept onto my face spread all the way to the tips of my ears when I realized what she was doing.

_Oh God... Should I even _watch_ this? This is _so_ wrong…but I _want_ to watch... Oh dear me, but it's rude to watch them do _that_… But then again, he _is_ kind of cute... But he's a _ghost_! And… I… But…_

…

_I think my brain just disconnected itself…_

I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the blush as well as those _naughty_ thoughts swimming around in my mind. Then my gaze slid over to the big oak tree again. Sam had moved over slightly, so that when I look at a certain angle, I could see Danny Phantom's face.

_Wait a sec, that head of black hair… It looks so familiar…_ I squinted at him. _Isn't that…Danny Fenton?_

My thoughts processing screeched to a halt when I realized it. The facial features, the body, the hair… It was unmistakable: That really was Danny Fenton, Casper High School's Heartthrob.

"That…that means…D-Danny Fenton…is Danny P-Phantom…" I stuttered out, feeling light-headed. I swayed on my feet for a moment before I went down into a peaceful darkness.

**(A/N: In case you're wondering, Charice's fine… She just fainted from shock, that's all XD)**

I opened my eyes a few moments later, remembering my purpose for coming to the Annual State Fair and panicked. _Ah, where's Sam and Danny Phantom? Why was I knocked out? Did the ghost whack me with that wooden stake?_ Then the memories came rushing over me like a tidal wave (even worse, a tsunami).

_Oh my… I remember now… I found out that Danny Phantom's Danny Fenton…_ I sat up and crossed my legs, Indian-style. _Should I tell Tucker? I mean, this is a really big matter that I've just stumbled upon…_

I cupped my chin in my hand as I pondered over this. _But then again, if Phan—I mean, _Danny_, wanted everyone to know, wouldn't he have told us a few months earlier, when Danny Phantom first showed up?_

_If that's the case, then maybe I _shouldn't_ tell Tucker…_ Then I brightened up as an idea struck me. _…_or_ I could consult the Ghost Hero himself! This way, I can confront him about this _and_ tell me what I should do!_

I nodded in relief. _Yeah… That's a good solution…for _now_…_ I sprung up to my feet and dusted the bits of grass that clung to my skirt, before freezing. _Oh God, _Tucker_! He must be worried sick since I ditched him just now!_ I quickly sprinted towards the exit. _I better get home and phone him, before he freaks out and calls the police like last time!_

* * *

**(A/N: Yep, that's all for now… Do take note that this is the last chapter (excluding the epilogue) where Charice is around. The next one focuses more on Danny and Sam. **(TEA: You already know one part of the story! I asked you for help because I said I can't write a decent one! *winks*)** I aim to post the last two chapters before the end of December…so stay tuned! :D**

**~M00nlite Maiden :) )**


	13. Explanations…Flying's Nice

**(A/N: I forgot to mention this in the last chapter… Merry Christmas, y'all! It may be a little late, but it's still part of the twelve days of Christmas! :D**

**Just a reminder that Tucker and Charice don't appear in this chapter. Danny/Sam shippers, REJOICE. There's a really sweet scene ahead (that I typed with some advice from TEA :P)…so I won't delay you any further! …okay, technically, the thanks, the review replies and the recap would delay you, but… AH, just ignore MEH! XDD**

* * *

**Thank you, my superbly patient reviewers: **Fadey, Kpfan72491, Codiak, The Silver Radio, Evilest Angel, totallyPSYCHED, Hinata28h, aras the crazy writer, Biisaiyowaq, Looka'sMagicHell, Gracie407

**The Silver Radio: **Haha, I'm glad this was a good Christmas present, friend! And there'll be happy endings, alright… Along with the reappearance of Charice and Tucker! :P

**Evilest Angel: **Aww… Dang, if you continue to compliment me like that, my head's gonna explode (from ego-swelling) soon! XD And I meant to put a certain scene in, but the chapter was so long, I had to cut it into half. It's in this chapter, though :3

**aras the crazy writer: **Don't worry, I'm late too! ;) Merry Christmas to you and your family!

**Biisaiyowaq: **It can't be _that_ bad, right? D:

**Looka'sMagicHell:** Why, thank you! :3 Your review made my day (actually night; I came to check my e-mail at 10pm…*sweatdrop*)! And I updated…so put down the gun…O_o"**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**=With Sam & Danny= He looked so peaceful that I could not help myself. My gaze softened and I smiled gently at his sleeping figure, before leaning against the sturdy tree trunk as I waited patiently for him to wake up.**

_**And give me some answers, too…**_

**(A/N: Not gonna put Charice's part here, since she doesn't appear anyways :3)**

* * *

Chapter 13—Explanations…Flying's Nice

=The Annual State Fair, With Sam & Danny=

~Sam's POV~

I was sitting there next to Phan—Danny for what seemed like hours before I heard him stir.

"Argh… That stinkin' Plasmius… He sure packs a punch for an old fruit-loop like him…" Danny groaned as he rubbed his chest ruefully, before realizing that there was a bandage over his wound. He sat up real quick, accidentally crashing his head to mine as he did so.

"Oww!" We grumbled in unison.

_Great, as if having the shock of my life wasn't enough; Now I have a throbbing head to go along with it!_ I grumbled mentally.

Danny looked up at me, his blue eyes wide in a mixture of surprise, happiness and…was that fear in there? "S-Sam! Whatcha doin'…here?" He squeaked out.

I cocked an eyebrow at his odd question. "I couldn't have knocked your head _that_ hard, could I? _You_ brought me here in the first place!"

"Heh, yeah I know…" The raven-haired boy murmured sheepishly, before he became serious. "I meant why are you still here when I specifically told you to head for safety?" He must have noticed my blank expression, since he added, "Remember?"

_Crap, I remember that all right..._ I thought, hoping my realization wasn't written all over my face. _Wait, why am I afraid of him when he's hiding something from me? _I_ should be demanding for answers, not _him_!_

I tilted my head up defiantly. "Then why are you still here, _Phantom_?"

The colour literally drained from his now terrified-looking face. "W-what?"

"Yeah, you heard me Danny. I know who you are, and I want some explanations, mister." I gave him a half-hearted glare. _After all, I can't just scare him away if I want answers…_

He gulped and raised his hands up in a form of surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll give you your answers. Just don't hurt me!"

I folded my arms and sat up properly. "I'm listening…"

Danny sighed heavily. "Alright, first of all, my parents are ghost hunters, as well as inventors. They invented a ghost portal in our basement a few months back. They showed it to me when they finished buildin' it, calling it the Fenton Portal. When they plugged it in, all it did was fizz a bit, but nothin' major happened. They looked so disappointed when they left the basement that I decided to head inside the portal to find the source of the problem. However, bein' a klutz, I tripped over a wire and hit a switch inside there…then all I felt was excruciatin' pain as somethin' zapped me…"

"…and you became Danny Phantom?" I asked, continuing what I thought was the end of his sentence.

The blue-eyed boy gave me a small smile. "You're half-right. I was wearin' a white hazmat jumpsuit for safety reasons when I went in, but when I woke up, I realized that the colours on the jumpsuit had inverted. I also had white hair and glowin' green eyes. At first I panicked, thinkin' I was dead, but as I continued to ponder about my human self, a neon-blue light appeared around my waist. I became human again."

I wrinkled my nose in confusion. "So what are you, exactly?" I stopped, realizing how tactless that sounded. "Erm… Not to sound rude or anything…"

"Nah, it's okay." He chuckled and waved a hand in the air, as if to dismiss the subject. "I'm a halfa, short for half-human, half-ghost. I'm one of the three halfas in the world."

"Who's the other two?" I questioned curiously.

"One of 'em is Vlad Plasmius, the ghost I was battlin' just now. His human form is Vlad Masters, the Mayor of Amity Park." His blue eyes flashed green for a second as he said so.

I was shocked. "That dangerous ghost is our _Mayor_?"

He nodded grimly, before his expression lightened up a bit. "The last halfa is my cousin, Dani, short for Danielle. Vlad wanted a perfect clone of me to be his son, since I refused to be his. However, he didn't have the right DNA to create one, but he managed to create a partially stable girl clone. He sent her to find me, makin' her think that he was gonna stabilize her form, but he wasn't gonna do so, since he considered her as imperfection."

"That's just horrible!" I declared.

"Of course it is. But in the end I convinced her that her so-called father was evil, and together we kicked his butt that day. Now she's on my side as my little cousin." He grinned happily. "Now, have all of ya questions been answered?"

I tapped my chin thoughtfully. "Well… Just two more questions…"

"Okay, then shoot." Danny muttered as he gazed at me attentively.

"First question: Where did you get _that_ from?" I pointed at the partially-gone insignia on his chest.

"Huh?" He looked down at himself. "Oh, that… I lost my ghost powers when I was battlin' Desiree the wishing ghost once, and it happened to be that Charice handed me that symbol on the same day, sayin' that since I was such good pals with Phantom, she wanted me to give it to him. So I slapped it on my chest and zapped myself in the Fenton Portal. Again." He grimaced at the memory.

"Okay…One last question…" I waited for him to nod before I continued, "Why didn't you tell me all this before?"

He flushed slightly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't mean to hide this from ya… I mean, I _wanted_ to tell you when we set this date, but I'm such a chicken… And I didn't want you to freak out on me… Since you're such a good friend and I don't wanna lose ya… Plus, my enemies might get you if they knew you knew… But that reason doesn't exactly count, since Plasmius _did_ get a hold of you just now…"

I giggled in a very non-Goth way at his adorable babbling. _Jeez, I never knew he's such a spazz, being a Heartthrob and all…_

After watching him babble on for a minute, I placed a finger on his lips to shut his never-ending speech. "Look, I understand why you didn't tell me, so shut your mouth, okay? It never seems to stop!" I laughed, and he joined in the laughter, before there was a comfortable silence.

"So…you think I'm…cute?" I murmured, feeling quite shy all of a sudden as I remembered the conversation we had at the neighbourhood park.

Danny's face became a rather dark shade of scarlet. "Err… Y-yeah…" He began rubbing the back of his neck again. "It's so very true…" He mumbled the last part, but I heard it anyway.

Silence elapsed between us once more, but not for long.

This time, he broke it. "Uhh… Sam, you do know that this 'Danny Fenton is Danny Phantom' thing is between us, right?"

"Not even Charice and Tucker?" I asked lightly.

His expression showed how horrified he felt. "Are you kiddin'? If Tuck knew, the whole _school_ would know by the end of first period!"

I snorted. "That drastic? Don't you think you're over-exaggerating, Danny?"

The raven-haired boy gave me a serious look. "Do I _look_ like I'm exaggerating, Sam?"

"Right." I nodded.

"That's my girl…" He flashed me a lopsided grin.

_My girl?_

Before I could say anything, Danny had leaned over and kissed me smack-dab on the lips. My eyes widened in surprise, before they slid shut as I enjoyed my first kiss. I slung my arms around his neck as he slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me into his lap so that I was even closer to him.

What felt like centuries later, we pulled apart, blushing ever so slightly. He rested his forehead against mine, brushing a stray strand of my hair behind my ear. I smiled up at him. "You know, we should thank that old fruit-loop for bringing us together. I mean, if he hadn't come to the Fair and attack you twice, I wouldn't have found out your secret and we wouldn't have kissed."

He gained a thoughtful look for a moment. "Man, I didn't know Vlad would play Cupid for us. So as a reward, I won't suck him into the Fenton Thermos today…" I was about to approve of his statement, but he continued, "…I'll suck him in tomorrow, and then leave him there with the Box Ghost for a week."

I gasped as I smacked his shoulder lightly. "_Danny_!"

He mocked a pained expression and rolled his blue eyes. "I was _jokin'_, Sam! Jeez, can't my girlfriend take a joke?"

My heartbeat slowed down when I heard that word. "What?" I squeaked out.

"That's right, Sam…" He gave, that adorable lopsided grin again. "You're my new girlfriend…" He whispered into my ear.

My cheeks lit up (for the millionth time that day). "Erm… Come on, we'd better go…it's getting late…" I quickly jumped up.

"Hey!" He pouted, scrambling to his feet and grabbing my arm. "You never answered me!"

"What do you expect me to say?" I managed to mumble out.

"Say you'll be my girlfriend." He stated firmly, still holding onto my arm.

I sighed softly. "I'll be your girlfriend. There, are you happy now?" I pretended to be irritated.

To my surprise, he lifted me up effortlessly and carried me bridal-style, transforming into Danny Phantom. He ignored my soft cries of protest and took to the air.

"What do you think you're doing?" I yelled over the rush of the wind.

"Bringin' my girlfriend home!" He shouted, grinning like a kid who had too much candy. **(A/N: Fadey, get the Fruit-tips! To the others…uh, inside joke, lol.)**

Scared for my life (who gets to fly hundreds of feet in the air without being in an airplane besides ghosts?), I squealed, "You've gone nuts, Danny! Put me down right this _instant_!" I wanted so badly to smack him, but I had to cling onto him for dear life as he continued to barrel forward.

"Nuh-uh!" The raven-haired boy's grin grew wider, tightening his hold on me. "You don't want to fall, do ya?"

He flew so fast that the air pressure caused me to shut my eyes tightly. "But I don't want to fly _either_!" I retorted.

Danny huffed, as though annoyed. "Chillax, Sam…" His blue eyes lit up as he pointed at something in the distance. "Oooh, there's your house! Prepare for landin'! We may or may not crash!"

"_What_?" I shrieked, opening my amethyst eyes in shock.

My boyfriend guffawed (most likely at my expression). "Just kiddin'."

After flying in the air for…what seemed like a long time to me, Danny finally slowed down and landed behind a tree which was a few feet away from my house, the Manson Mansion. **(A/N: Try sayin' that 5 times as fast…XD)**

He transformed back into the usual Danny and walked me towards my house in silence. When we reached the doorstep, he turned to me. "So… I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Danny, we don't have school tomorrow."

His cheeks became rosy as he scratched the back of his neck. "Heh… Right. I'll see you on Monday. There, are ya happy now?" He mimicked my earlier sentence.

"Oh yeah, like, totally!" I replied with too much sugar in my voice.

"Don't do that again." The boy was wide-eyed. "You sound _waaaay_ too much like Paulina."

I shrugged. "Fine. I don't like to use that tone anyway. It sounds too…"

"…girly?" He suggested.

I shook my head. "…un-unique. I value my individuality, thank you very much."

His mouth formed an 'o' as he nodded. We stood there awkwardly for a few minutes.

"Anyway, goodnight, Sam." Danny leaned over to peck me on the cheek, and before I could say anything, he vanished into thin air.

* * *

~Normal POV~

Sam continued to stand there in stunned silence before her purple-glossed mouth curled to form a tiny smile. "Goodnight, Danny." She murmured, turning to unlock her front door. "_I love you._" She whispered, before going in.

A certain phantom grinned as he hovered invisibly on the path leading to the Manson Mansion. "I love you too, Sam." He uttered softly, before he turned visible and flew into the twinkling night-time skies.

* * *

**(A/N: *Dies of corniness* My God, I never expected the ending to be that mushy! o_o" **(Fadey: You dare tell anyone at school, and you're a goner, ya hear?)** Anyway, THIS ISN'T THE END (no matter how cheesy)… There's still the epilogue to look forward too! Your favourite Techno-Geek and Brunette make a come-back! Oooo….and who wants a Paulina bashing? *evil laughter as I raise my hand***

…**oh crud, I just realized Valerie never made an appearance in this story! :| Never mind, I'll make sure she's in the epilogue… somehow… or another... *winks***

**~M00nlite Maiden :) )**


	14. Epilogue: All Is Well Again

**(A/N: Here's a very Happy New Year from me to all of you! It's the 1****st**** of January 2011 over here in Singapore, so this is a slightly longer chapter as a New Year gift, I guess ;) I hope it was up to standards (apart from a certain part where I was too tired to crank out). Enjoy! :D**

* * *

**My final thanks for these fantastically awesome reviewers:** Fadey, Gracie407, Codiak, darkness bandit, aras the crazy writer, Squeeze, totallyPSYCHED, Hinata28h, Sunshine-Midnight123, Evilest Angel, Biisaiyowaq, Looka'sMagicHell, Kpfan72491, turkehead987

**darkness bandit:** Yeah, they did, but they didn't hear each other :P And that's an interesting idea for a sequel…but I think this one's fine as a loner ;)

**Squeeze:** Whoo, don't worry, I died too! XD

**Evilest Angel:** Haha, how NOT to take your opinions when they're so awesome? ;)

**Biisaiyowaq: ***gasp* It was rushed? :O *reads Chapter 13 again* Really? Which part? o_o And gah, why is it so bad? D: *sob*

**turkehead987: **Hmm…. You'll find out here :P**)**

* * *

**-Recap-**

**Sam continued to stand there in stunned silence before her purple-glossed mouth curled to form a tiny smile. "Goodnight, Danny." She murmured, turning to unlock her front door. "**_**I love you.**_**" She whispered, before going in.**

**A certain phantom grinned as he hovered invisibly on the path leading to the Manson Mansion. "I love you too, Sam." He uttered softly, before he turned visible and flew into the twinkling night-time skies.**

* * *

Chapter 14—Epilogue: All Is Well Again

=A few meters from Casper High, Monday Morning=

~Normal POV~

A certain Goth girl was strolling her way to school with her new purple book-bag slung over her shoulder when two hands came from out of the blue and shielded her amethyst eyes. "Boo." A low voice growled in her ear menacingly.

"Good morning to you too, Danny." She replied, not at all daunted by the scary voice as she continued walking.

The hands let go of her. "Aww, you're no fun at all, Sam!" The said boy whined, catching up with her with ease. "Couldn't you have at least _pretended_ you were scared?"

"Okay." Sam shrugged and stopped walking. Danny did the same. "Let me make my best effort…" She gave a dramatic cough. "... Ah?" She gave him a "Yeap, I am _sooooo_ petrified" look before she resumed moving forward.

The blue-eyed boy stood there with his mouth agape for a few seconds before scrambling after her. "Hey! You weren't even _tryin'_!" When she provided no response, he shouted, "_Saaaaaaam_!"

He skidded to a stop beside her and walked with her at a normal pace. She chuckled and slung her arm to link with his. "Just drop the subject, Danny. Don't be a goon."

Danny pouted as he held her hand instead of linking arms. "I am NOT a goon!"

"Similarly to how Vlad is NOT a fruit-loop." Sam shot back.

"Okay, fine, I'm a goon!" He exclaimed. "But I'm _your_ goon." He continued smugly.

She opened her mouth to retort, but instead found herself blushing. "W-whatever. Let's just get to school. We're going to be late." She murmured, avoiding his blue eyes.

The boy grinned in triumph as he accompanied his girlfriend to school.

* * *

=At School=

The couple arrived at school early (actually on time for once in Danny's case), where the students of Casper High were loitering, chatting and minding their own business. As a matter-of-fact, the surrounding was pretty peaceful that morning, considering that the weekend had just flown by.

Of course, Danny and Sam were too absorbed in their conversation to notice all of those things. Most of all, they did not even realize that they had waltzed through the school doors hand in hand.

Guess they should have paid attention. After all, "Gossip" was Casper High School's middle name.

Now, who would be the _first_ person to notice and actually _say_ something about the two Lovebirds?

"Oh my God, Pauli, is that the Newbie…holding hands with…the _Heartthrob_?" screeched a certain blonde-haired cheerleader.

…yup, you guessed it: Star, aka Paulina's Satellite (as well as the school's biggest gossiper).

That one scream led a chain reaction of gasps as the _entire school_ turned to look at Danny and Sam (who were _still_ oblivious). It also made several of Danny's admirers to either faint or look like they would like to rip Sam apart molecule by molecule.

Paulina had been leaning against her locker (elegantly, of course, she wouldn't have it any other way), boasting (more like lying) to her posse of girls about how _wonderful_ her last date with Danny had been, and how _fantastic_ their relationship was, when Star screamed.

The popular girl barely recovered from her shock when her posse of girls started bombarding her with a ton of questions.

"What's going on, Pauli?"

"Paulina, weren't you just saying you had a date with Fenton?"

"What is your boyfriend doing with that loser?"

"Why do they look so together-ish?"

Paulina's head ached with the sudden onslaught of interrogation, so she quickly made her decision. Instead of coming clean with the little white lie about her date with Danny, she decided to twist it all around, so that she was the unknowing victim.

"DANIEL JAMES FENTON!" Her scream echoed throughout the entire hallway as she stormed over to the ever-loving couple, who were startled to their senses. As if by magic, the huge mob of students loitering there parted right down the centre, just like the Red Sea, to let her charge by.

The mentioned boy raised an eyebrow at the raging popular girl as he pulled Sam closer to him. "Uhh…. Yes, Paulina?"

"Don't you "yes Paulina" _me_, Mister!" She glared at him and pointed an accusing index finger at Sam. "How _dare_ you cheat on me with that…that _stank_!"

Sam gasped at the insult. "_Excuse_ me?" She was ready to move over a give Paulina a taste of her combat boots when Danny stopped her. "_Lemme handle her._" He mouthed, before turning to the Latina beauty.

"Paulina, how on _earth_ is it possible that I'm cheatin' on you when _you_ were the one who broke up with me _last year_?" He questioned, looking as innocent as he could.

All the students turned to look at Paulina so fast that they almost got whiplash. "You two haven't been dating for a _YEAR_?" The school chorused.

"N-no!" Paulina tried, still trying to worm her way out of this sticky situation. "Danny darling over here's just joking! Right Danny?" She turned on her charm and smiled sweetly at Danny.

"There was once a time where I would do anythin' for a chance to hear that…" He smirked. "..but too bad I already have a girlfriend. One that doesn't two-time me with two other guys before dumpin' me for Dash." With that, he gazed down at Sam lovingly (who of course, blushed).

If all of you know the definition of 'chaos', then you'd _definitely_ know what happened next.

Paulina let out an indignant shriek before getting plummeted with questions from friends, admirers and everyone else in-between.

"Why didn't you tell us you broke up with him?"

"Like, OMG, Pauli! You broke up with _the_ Hottie?"

"Does this mean I get a chance to date you Paulina?"

"Now that you're single, I'm _aliiiiive_!"

The Lovebirds on the other hand, got a different response. Danny got slaps on the back (really hard ones at that) and some congratulations (mostly just Tucker shouting, "I knew you two would get together!" over and over). Sam got similar things (minus the slaps), along with death threats from her boyfriend's fans.

Cue the school warning bell to avoid any homicides and suicides from happening.

Everyone went to their respective classes reluctantly, but not without some action of course…

"Yeow! Why the _nerve_ of that little _puta_!" Paulina screeched angrily as she rubbed her sore shin. As Sam and Danny walked to their class (snickering all the way), she shook her fist at them. "Yeah, you two better run, 'cos when I get you, you two must pay! Literally!"

* * *

=In Mr Lancer's English Class=

"Alright class, settle down." The bald teacher intoned flatly as he shuffled through some of the worksheets on the teacher's table. "Today, we're going to talk about the play called 'Hamlet'. Does anyone know what's it about?"

"Argh, what a bore…" Danny muttered tiredly, as he yawned and set his head down on the desk.

**(A/N: I think I'd just say the seating arrangement for the four friends. Danny and Charice sit next to each other, while behind them Sam and Tucker sit next to each other. I know it was pretty vague in Chapter 1, so I'm clearing it up here :P)**

Sam frowned when she noticed the sleeping boy in front of her. She stretched her right leg forward and kicked the back of his chair. "Danny, wake up!" She hissed out, loud enough for him to hear.

"Hmmph…" Danny grumbled something incoherent under his breath. He reached a hand behind him and swatted the air, as though trying to make her stop bothering him.

She rolled her amethyst eyes and tapped Charice's shoulder. The girl jumped and looked at Sam with an expression filled with anxiety, before it cleared. "Oh! Sam, what's up?"

"Wake the loon of my boyfriend." She replied, gesturing to the boy.

Charice blinked at her for a few seconds before stomping on Danny's foot.

"YEEEEEOOW!" He squealed, snapping awake instantly.

"Mr Fenton, is there something _that_ painful in 'Hamlet' that you would like to share with the rest of us?" Mr Lancer drawled, casting a dark look at him, expecting a snippy comeback from the trouble-maker.

To the teacher's surprise, he only flushed. "Heh… No Mr Lancer. Sorry, it won't happen again."

"Well…okay. That's good." Mr Lancer nodded (still albeit stunned), before he continued his lesson.

Danny turned to Charice and glared at her. She shrugged and pointed at Sam, who returned the death glare to the boy. He pouted and faced the front (but at least he was not going to sleep again).

Charice bit her lip in hesitation. _I don't think I should ask him in class… It's too personal to ask it here… I'll ask him to meet me somewhere during lunch…_

She tapped Danny's shoulder. "Erm… Could you meet me in the rooftop garden during lunch-time? I need to talk to you about some things…"

He raised a thick black eyebrow but nodded. "Uhh… Suuuure..."

The brunette smiled back, letting out a breath she did not know she was holding. _Good… Very good indeed…_

* * *

=Lunch Time, Rooftop Garden=

When Danny reached the garden, he found Charice looking off into the distance with a nervous expression on her face. She had not noticed he had arrived, so he decided to speak.

"Soooo…" He began suddenly, causing the girl to jump slightly. "…what is it that ya wanted to talk 'bout?"

_Okay, gather yourself together, Montez. You can do this… Just say it like ripping off a Band-Aid…_ She took in a shuddering breath, before blurting, "I know your secret, Danny."

The ink-haired boy froze. _Oh no, does she know? Wait, she might not know the _really_ big secret, so I don't have to freak out…_yet_._

He chuckled and folded his arms. "Oh? And what secret might _that_ be, Charice?"

"I know you're Danny Phantom." She stated firmly, watching him closely for any reaction.

Danny gulped. _Argh, she _does_ know! What to do? What to _do_? Alright I have to play it cool… PLAY IT COOL, Fenton!_

He burst out into hysterical laughter, clutching his stomach. "Oh…oh man… You… you think _I'm_… Danny Phantom?" He wheezed between his rather desperate laughing.

Now it was her turn to fold he arms. "Are you done yet?"

The boy wiped a tear that had leaked out from one of his blue eyes. "Yep, I'm good."

"I don't have to _think_ you're Danny Phantom, Danny. I _saw_ with my own eyes when you transformed back from your ghost form." She stated firmly, and as he opened his mouth, she continued, "And don't you _dare_ say it must've been the trick of the lights, because I _know_ what I saw. And now I demand some answers, Daniel _Fenton_."

He clamped his mouth shut. Dang it, she stole my excuse… Now I have to explain it to Charice too… He grumbled mentally.

**(A/N: Okay, I'm really too tired to type out all those explanations (AGAIN), so I'll just skip that part and come to the conclusion… Please don't kill me; I'm exhausted as it is… Plus, if I put it all those explanations again, it'll be uber, UBER long… =_=)**

"So you're half-human and half-ghost." Charice muttered skeptically.

Danny sighed. "Yes."

"That…explains some things." She murmured softly, looking down at her feet.

"_Liiiike_?" He questioned curiously.

"Like your first names being the same… Or like the times when you're around, but Danny Phantom isn't, and vice versa…" She listed off a few examples before he stopped her.

"OKAY! I get it." Danny exclaimed. "But I _still_ don't get how you figured it out…"

Her turquoise eyes widened. "Uhh… I'm a good guesser?"

His blue eyes narrowed instantly. "You're a really bad liar, Charice, so _spill_."

Charice scooted away from him. "But if I tell you, you and your girlfriend are going to come after me with a chainsaw each!"

"What does this have to do with Sam?" He looked confused.

"Because…because…" She stammered hesitantly.

"Yeah?" The halfa asked, walking towards her.

"Because Tucker and I spied on your daaaaaaaate!" The brunette squealed as she bolted down the stairs as fast as she could.

Danny blinked comically for a few seconds before his friend's words sank in. He gasped and sprinted down the stairs. "You did _WHAT_?"

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" The girl yelled over her shoulder as she continued to run down the hallway.

"Didn't _mean_ to?" He screamed in disbelief, gaining speed as he hunted her down. "Charmaine Clarice Montez, you're a goner, when I get mah hands on ya!"

Charice ran past the cafeteria just as Sam and Tucker opened the double-doors, having eaten their lunches already. "Charice?" Sam asked as her friend rushed past.

"Danny?" Tucker questioned as the Heartthrob zoomed past them.

Sam and Tucker glanced at each other. "Follow 'em?" He asked.

"Do you even have to ask?" Sam replied, snatching his arm and brisk-walking after them.

"Ack!" He yelped as he stumbled after the Goth girl.

* * *

=Lockers=

"Got 'cha!" Danny yelped, tackling Charice so that she was caged between the lockers and his body. "You're not goin' anywhere, you lil' snip!"

"Eep!" She squeaked out, squirming under his grasp. "Jeez, Danny, I'm sorry! I know I'm rude! I'm really sorry! Really!"

There was an evil glint in his blue eyes. "Nuh-uh… You're so gonna get—"

"DANNY!" Sam's voice could be heard from down the hallway as her amethyst eyes widened at the sight of her boyfriend nearly crushing her best friend with his body. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"

The said boy froze. _Uh oh…_

"Sam! Help me out here!" Charice choked out, her face turning a little blue from the crushing.

Danny quickly moving away from her to face his girlfriend with a sheepish and innocent smile plastered on his face.

"Do share with us _why_ were you trying to knock the air out of Charice and possibly kill her, _Daniel_." Sam asked, her eyes shining with hidden evil, causing her poor boyfriend to gulp.

"She spied on our date!" He accused, pointing at the brunette.

Instantly, Sam turned her evil look over to Charice, who was currently biting onto her coral-pink glossed lips nervously and avoiding all eye contact with her friends.

"Charmaine Clarice Montez," She winced as Sam announced her full name. "You did _what_?"

"I'm sorry! I was just curious who your date was!" Charice protested, raising both hands in defense.

Then Sam remembered a certain conversation she had with the girl over the phone. "Wait, so what was that snapping noise you made when I called you that night?"

Charice grinned sheepishly. "I snapped my fingers…because I wanted to find out who your date was, since you refused to tell me…"

The black-haired girl sighed. "I guess it was my fault too, since I never told you…"

"Truce?" The brunette offered meekly.

Her Gothic friend shrugged. "Why not?"

Danny looked back and forth between the two girls. "So what, that's it?"

"What else do you _expect_, Hot-shot?" They snapped together.

He raised his hands (like Charice had done earlier). "Okay, okay! Don't bite mah head off!"

All of them (including Tucker, who had amazingly kept his mouth shut during the whole ordeal) began laughing. All was well again…

…until, of course, the techno-geek just _had_ to say something. "Phew, I'm sure glad _that_ was over. For a second I thought I was gonna die for spyin' on you guys with Charice!"

Danny and Sam exchanged a glance. "You are now!" They yelled together, charging at the poor bespectacled guy.

"Ahhhhh!" He screamed girlishly as he raced away, his two Lovebird friends chasing after him (along with Charice, who decided to follow after them to catch some of the action).

Yup, all was well again…

* * *

**(A/N: Yeah, that's the last of "The Newbie & The Hottie"! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed typing it ;) I hope the Paulina bashing was okay… I'm a fairly nice person (besides bullying the guys in school), so that was weird to type out. Yes, Tucker didn't get a chance to find out. Haha, he's left in the dark…as usual XD**

**I really appreciate all the reviews, story alerts, author alerts and faves, everyone! :3 If you want, you can go check out my one-shot, "Catch Me Now". Thank you all so much! :D**

**~M00nlite Maiden :) )**


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